17 Economic and Social Rights

Subject(s):

Right to adequate standard of living — Right to education — Right to health — Right to social security — Right to work — Relationship between international and domestic law — Claims

This chapter reviews cases that show how domestic courts determine and enforce international legal rules on social and economic rights. It begins with cases relating to the legal nature and scope of state obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in the context of claims for the violation of specific rights recognized in the covenant. It then considers case law dealing with specific economic and social rights, including the right to education, the right to health, the right to social security, the right to adequate standard of living, and the right to work, labour rights, and trade union rights. These cases illustrate the steady shift in international and comparative law during the last decades towards an ever-growing acceptance of the justiciability of socio-economic rights.