Review on the European Committee of Social Rights’ case law in 2020

Abstract

This review tackles a crucial year (2020) in which the activity of the European Committee of Social Rights has faced a serious crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Indeed, the Committee’s case-law on the reporting system has focused on a thematic group particularly affected by such crisis (“Employment, training and equal opportunities”). On the other hand, the Committee’s case-law on the collective complaints procedure has been especially reinforced as result of the resolution of fifteen important complaints, addressing new profiles in both the fight against the gender pay gap and the participation of women in decision-making positions within private companies. Finally, this essay emphasizes, at least, three lessons to be learned in light of the coronavirus crisis: a) The European Committee of Social Rights has offered new elements in its case-law (State of interpretation on the right to health in times of pandemic) that make the Social Charter more visible as the most significant instrument for the protection of social rights in Europe, even in times of crisis. b) The (sanitary, social, economic ...) crisis cannot be a pretext to reduce the protection of social rights but, on the contrary, rather a pretext to assume more commitments (acceptance by Spain of the revised Social Charter and the collective complaints mechanism). c) The crisis should lead to a revitalization of the “Turin Process” by consolidating the Social Charter as the “Social Constitution for Europe”.