Per i cinquant´anni della Carta Social Europea

Abstract

In times of economic crisis, and even more during recessions, social rights are particularly exposed to a loss of effectiveness. The 50th anniversary of the European Social Charter (1961-2011) represented a special occasion to evaluate the implementation of such rights by national institutions. In this context, the paper addresses the question of the role of the European Committee of Social Rights in strengthening the commitment of the Member States to protect and develop social rights, in accordance to the accepted provisions of the Charter and its Protocols. The essay also suggests that Committee’s relevant achievements could be further improved by connecting its quasi-judicial activity to the ongoing interactions among other parallel European and national judicial bodies. The “better protection” clauses, by which European Charters of rights and several national Constitutions open to the respective guarantees (as a reflex of higher common values), offer the ideal ground for a multilevel, subsidiarity-based judicial protection, which may support – although never replace – the necessary legislative enactments and the democratic policy-making process.