European Social Charter

1. Charta locuta causa finita?-2. The exclusions set forth in the Charter.-3. Some doctrinal attempts to bypass them.-4. The (quasi-)judicial activism of the European Committee of Social Rights.-4.1. Unlawful residence, basic needs, and human dignity.-4.2. Citizenship and data collection.-4.3. Minority of workers and State obligations.-5. Concluding remarks.

L'articolo analizza la recente lettura delle corti di merito della normativa in materia di licenziamenti collettivi alla luce della Carta Sociale Europea, ed evidenzia la discriminazione rimediale tra lavoratori assunti prima e dopo il 7 marzo 2015, data di entrata in vigore del d.lgs. 23/2015.

The main focus of this thesis is on the work of the European Court on Human Rights (the Court, ECtHR), namely on judgments by which the Court reads into the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention, ECHR) rights with significant socio-economic elements already guaranteed under the European Social Charter (the Charter, ECS) and the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (ECPT). Reading in such rights into the Convention raises numerous problems, from practical ones concerning the implementation of judgments and the increase of the Court’s workload, to the problem of the Court’s inconsistency and finally to this being a threat to the Court’s legitimacy. It will be argued that, despite the Court’s wide powers when interpreting the Convention rights, there are rights already guaranteed under different Council of Europe (CoE) instruments and the Court should not extend the scope of the Convention into these areas, nor does it have the legitimacy to do so.

Ο Ευρωπαϊκός Κοινωνικός Χάρτης αποτελεί μια ευρωπαϊκή συνθήκη κατοχύρωσης και προστασίας εργασιακών και ευρύτερα κοινωνικών δικαιωμάτων που παρέμενε επί μακρόν άγνωστη στο ευρύ κοινό. Ωστόσο, η οικονομική κρίση των τελευταίων ετών στάθηκε η αιτία ώστε ο Χάρτης να βρεθεί στο επίκεντρο του νομικού ενδιαφέροντος (και) στην Ελλάδα, οδηγώντας σε πλούσια συγγραφική παραγωγή εκ μέρους της θεωρίας του εργατικού δικαίου αλλά και στην ολοένα αυξανόμενη νομολογιακή επεξεργασία των διατάξεών του. Με την αφορμή αυτή, η παρούσα μελέτη εξετάζει την εφαρμογή του Χάρτη ως διεθνούς συνθήκης για την προστασία των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων στην ελληνική έννομη τάξη, και ειδικότερα την επίδρασή του στη νομολογία των ελληνικών δικαστηρίων μέχρι σήμερα. Η ανάλυση καταδεικνύει τις δυνατότητες του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινωνικού Χάρτη και των μηχανισμών ελέγχου εφαρμογής του να προσδώσουν σημαντική ώθηση στην προστασία των κοινωνικών δικαιωμάτων σε εθνικό επίπεδο, και να λειτουργήσουν ως προπύργιο κατά της υποτίμησης της εργασίας και της υπονόμευσης την οποία υφίστανται τα κοινωνικά δικαιώματα εν καιρώ κρίσης.

Domestic and international mechanisms for
monitoring states’ compliance with economic,
social and cultural rights, children’s rights and
the rights of persons with disabilities


Poland has not yet ratified a number of international human
rights instruments in the field of economic, social and
cultural rights, children’s rights and the rights of persons
with disabilities that allow individuals, or organizations
representing individuals, to file complaints with international
bodies. The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs have
raised rather unconvincing arguments against the ratification
of these instruments, referring in particular to financial
constraints. The practice of international human
rights bodies, including these of the European Court of
Human Rights, provide no justification for such concerns.
The failure to ratify the discussed instruments means that
people in Poland have no real protection against violations
of the rights safeguarded by these documents and
are deprived of any effective remedy that may be used
to enforce such rights. The authors assert that Poland
should promptly ratify these international instruments.

This article discusses the implications for the right to a life in dignity of the "activation turn" (Kenworthy) in the welfare state, characterised by the requirement that social security claimants be available for and undertake compulsory activities intended to result in finding employment. Failure to comply may result in loss of benefit for up to three years. This article argues that while activation of claimants is compatible with human rights law, the UK’s sanctions regime may be vulnerable to challenge. The main focus is on whether a regime Webster claims is designed to result in "complete destitution" can be compatible with human dignity. The key focus is on art.3, art.8 and Protocol 1, art.1 (P1-1) of the ECHR and their relationship to three elements of the protection of human dignity identified by McCrudden: prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment, individual autonomy and satisfaction of essential needs.

The subject of analysis in this chapter is the mechanism of the European
Social Charter (Revised). This mechanism is presented in the context of the other human rights treaties. The Charter was drafted as a crucial social rights treaty in Europe. In its mechanism, the European Social Rights Committee plays a central role. This Committee, consisting of 15 independent experts, monitors compliance with the Charter through two complementary procedures. The first is the national reports drawn up by the Contracting States Parties. The second procedure is the collective complaints procedure. Unfortunately, the collective complaints procedure is only available to a small number of complainants: these complaints can only be submitted to the ECSR by the designated social partners and other NGOs, and only a few States Parties have ratified the Revised Charter or the Protocol allowing for complaints. An analysis of the practice of the ECSR points to the need to reform the ESC mechanism. Previous reforms of this mechanism have not led to an increase in the importance of the Charter as a social rights treaty in
Europe. Nor have these reforms improved access to this mechanism for victims of social rights violations. In fact, for these victims, the European Convention on Human Rights remains a much more attractive instrument.

The urgency of the topic is due to the fact that today, within the framework of the Ukrainian state, significant intensification of interaction at the international level and stabilization of Ukrainian legislation in relation to European legislation are taking place. At the same time, despite the presence of a large number of studies within the framework of the raised topic, there is a problem of adaptation of the European Social Charter in relation to the new labor legislation of our state. The European Social Charter was created by the Council of Europe as a specific addition to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and was opened for signature in 1961. The provisions of the Сharter are intended to protect the nineteen basic social rights of Europeans: the right to work, the right to normal working conditions, the right to fair remuneration, the right of men and women to equal payment for labor, the right to unite in an organization and to conclude collective agreements (including the right to strike), the right to social security, the right to social and medical assistance and receiving social services, to protection of family, disabled persons, migrant workers and their families, children and young people, and so on. At the same time, the Charter became available for acceptance and signing by Ukraine, as well as other post-Soviet countries relatively recently. Before that, members of the Council of Europe at that time were such states as Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom. Therefore, it is not surprising that communist propaganda itself ignored the existence of this document, while still serving the Soviet constitution as a unique breakthrough for many years, including in protecting the social and economic rights of its citizens. The Council of Europe began preparing the current version of the Social Charter in 1990, and in 1996 it became open for signature. The Ukrainian state signed this document in 1999, however, the ratification process lasted for seven years.

In the article the author elaborates on the issue of homelessness from the human rights perspective. To reconstruct this perspective, the author analyses standards which came from the second generation of international
human rights instruments, especially: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the European Social Charter; and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
The author also considers the European Convention on Human Rights, which belongs to the first generation of international human rights instruments.
Further in article, the author analyses the regulations concerning homelessness in the Polish constitution and confronts it with international standards concerning homelessness.

This book explores the complicated relationship between the EU legal framework for posting of workers and collective labour law. It examines this topic from the perspective of EU law and of international labour law. In doing so, it builds upon a solid interdisciplinary foundation, which looks at sociological and economic aspects of the posting phenomenon, taking also into account issues related to industrial relations. However, the immediate focus of the present book is on the creation and evolution of the said EU legal framework. Hence, it provides an in-depth analysis of the drafting process of the Posting of Workers Directive (96/71) as well as an exhaustive examination of the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU dealing with posting of workers.
This evolving legal framework is subsequently considered in its broader context. Two tensions are thus identified. On the one hand, the book investigates the growing conflict between the EU framework for posting of workers and the international protection of social rights. It argues that, as regards the relationship here at stake, the EU is presently violating the standards set by the Council of Europe and by the International Labour Organisation. On the other hand, the book critically considers the impact of the trend towards decentralisation of collective bargaining on the application of collective agreements to posted workers. In particular, it analyses the so-called “New Economic Governance” of the EU, and its role in fostering such a trend. The author outlines the far-reaching implications of the lack of coherence between the action of the EU institutions involved in the “New Economic Governance” and the case law of the Court of Justice dealing with posting of workers.

The UK government makes three key human rights-related commitments in the Good Friday Agreement, the basis for the restoration of devolution and transition from conflict to peace in Northern Ireland: incorporate the European Convention on Human Rights into Northern Ireland law, consider proposals for a regional Bill of Rights and ensure compliance with the state’s international obligations in the province. While ECHR compliance is required of devolved institutions by the constitutional legislation, the prospects of a Bill of Rights being enacted appear scant and oversight of compliance with other international obligations is unsatisfactorily placed in political, rather than judicial, hands. Consequently, protection of socio-economic rights beyond those covered by ECHR is weak. This paper argues that judicial protection of socio-economic rights – whether in the form of a Bill of Rights or the incorporation of additional human rights agreements into Northern Ireland law – is required for full implementation of the Agreement. It then considers the implications of such a step for social security in the region, in light of Northern Ireland’s unique legislative competence in this field tempered by the long-established convention (the parity principle) that policy should mirror developments in Great Britain. Recent UK government reforms have generated considerable hostility in all three devolved regions, placing parity under unprecedented political pressure. From a legal perspective, it is suggested that one key element of the reform package – the sanctions regime for breach of conditions by claimants – is already difficult to reconcile with Northern Ireland’s ECHR obligations. The placing of socio-economic rights instruments on equal footing with ECHR would call into question the competence of the Assembly to continue adherence to other aspects of the Westminster model, notably the level of benefits. The concluding section highlights the profound political and fiscal implications that would have to be considered.

The reduction of protections in the event of an unlawful dismissal, made by the so-called Jobs Act issued in 2014-2015 by the Italian Parliament and Government, with a particular focus to workers hired after March 7, 2015, was the subject of an order submitted by the Labor Court of Rome to the Italian Constitutional Court, on suspicion of unconstitutionality. The legal construction used by the Judge highlights the violation of Article 24 ESC as an <<interposed (standard)rule>>. It is the first time that an Italian Labor Court has raised this issue so clearly. The comment aims to identify the different plans of protection measures in this kind of hypothesis.

The current crisis era in Europe has revealed symptoms of lack of respect for international socio-economic rights and challenges vis-à-vis their effectiveness at the national level. One such symptom relates to the (lack of) responsiveness of domestic judges concerning the justiciability, direct applicability and enforceability of such rights. Against this background, the European Social Charter—a rather neglected legal instrument, albeit the most important one with regard to socioeconomic rights in Europe—has emerged in the jurisprudence of domestic courts in recent years, providing a unique perspective to address these challenges. In reality, even though the Charter initially seemed to exclude the possibility of being invoked before national courts, the situation has changed today. This is especially the case since the adoption of the Collective Complaints Procedure, as can be seen in the practice of lower and apex courts of several contracting parties. Specifically, various domestic courts—e.g. in Greece and Spain—have in many cases ruled in favour of the direct effect of various Charter provisions, and have given considerable weight to the ‘quasi-case law’ of the Charter’s monitoring body: the European Committee of Social Rights. Domestic courts are thus providing a valuable perspective on the normative debates in legal doctrine, specifically regarding the (democratic) legitimacy of judicially reviewing the legislator’s choices, and the issue of effectively protecting and enforcing international socio-economic rights at the domestic level in times of crisis.

The recent debt crisis in Europe has resulted in a significant number of structural reforms implemented in EU Member States across various fields, including the labour market, either in the context of the bailout mechanisms or the EU Economic Governance framework. This development has provoked fundamental rights concerns and has consequently given rise to legal mobilization strategies that put austerity reforms under the test of legality before supranational and national competent bodies. However, the jurisprudence that has developed in that regard seems incoherent and shows real differences in approach. This study analyzes the paths of judicial reasoning that supranational and Greek bodies have adopted in fundamental rights cases challenging austerity-based labour market reforms implemented in Greece during the European Debt Crisis. It concludes that different paths of reasoning have been adopted, which could even be regarded as conflicting at several instances, reflecting in that way the well-known particularities and discrepancies of fundamental rights protection in Europe and the conflicting relationship of fundamental (social) rights with economic and fiscal considerations imposed by austerity in times of crisis and beyond.

On the 5th of July 2017, the European Committee of Social Rights published another decision adopted under the collective complaints procedure, condemning Greece for violating plenty of the European Social Charter provisions concerning labour rights by implementing austerity measures between 2010 and 2014. The Committee adopted a dynamic and analytical interpretation of the Charter setting new criteria, such as the need to take into account the social needs of the most vulnerable when legislating and went even further than in its previous decisions in terms of social rights protection by producing a precedent that can be used as a tool against the application of austerity policies. This paper analyses GSEE v. Greece, Complaint No. 111/2014 before the Committee and attempts to review it under a multi-level context.

The UK government made three key human rights-related commitments in the Good Friday Agreement, the basis for the restoration of devolution and transition from conflict to peace in Northern Ireland: to incorporate the European Convention on Human Rights into Northern Ireland law; to consider proposals for a regional Bill of Rights; and to ensure compliance with the state's international obligations in the region. While ECHR compliance is required of devolved institutions by the constitutional legislation, the prospects of a Bill of Rights being enacted appears limited and oversight of compliance with other international obligations is unsatisfactorily placed in political, rather than judicial, hands. Consequently, protection of socioeconomic rights beyond those covered by the ECHR is weak. This paper argues that judicial protection of socioeconomic rights – whether in the form of a Bill of Rights or the incorporation of additional human rights agreements into Northern Ireland law – is required for full implementation of the Agreement. It then considers the implications of such a step for social security in the region. The concluding section highlights political and fiscal implications that would have to be considered.

SUMMARY: 1. Preliminary remarks: austerity v. human rights. – 2. The principle of the
higher human rights standard. – 3. A typical example of the adverse effects of austerity
measures: Greece. – 3.1. General Remarks. – 3.2. The real situation. – 4. Are the
measures condemned by the ECSR breaching EU law? – 4.1. Discrimination on
grounds of age under EU law. – 4.2. The ECSR cases related to age in the light of EU
law. – 4.2.1. Termination of the employment contract without notice and severance
allowance. – 4.2.2. Young workers: sub-minima, limitation of social security coverage.
– 4.2.3. Reduction or suppression of retirement benefits on grounds of age. – 4.3.
The right to paid annual leave: ESC and EU law. – 5. Final remarks. – 6. Addendum.
This is an updated version of Conference Paper already uploaded on Academia edu.

Για πρώτη φορά στην ελληνική νομική εργογραφία η προσέγγιση του δικαιώματος συλλογικής διαπραγμάτευσης και της διαιτησίας γίνεται υπό την ερμηνευτική οπτική του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινωνικού Χάρτη, δηλαδή της εκτενούς ανάλυσης της σχετικής νομολογίας της Ε.Ε.Κ.Δ. Η παρούσα μελέτη αποσκοπεί στο να αναλύσει συστηματικά τα σημαντικότερα πορίσματα της νομολογίας της Ε.Ε.Κ.Δ. σχετικά με τις παραγράφους 2 και 3 του άρθρου 6, με στόχο να φωτίσει τα ακόλουθα ζητήματα: πρώτον, πώς οριοθετεί η Ε.Ε.Κ.Δ. το περιεχόμενο και το πεδίο εφαρμογής του δικαιώματος ή, ακριβέστερα, της ελευθερίας συλλογικών διαπραγματεύσεων· δεύτερον, πώς προδιαγράφει η Ε.Ε.Κ.Δ. τον ρόλο του Κράτους στο πεδίο των συλλογικών διαπραγματεύσεων και πώς έχει τοποθετηθεί για νομοθετικές παρεμβάσεις συρρίκνωσης της έκτασης εφαρμογής των συλλογικών συμβάσεων οι οποίες έλαβαν χώρα κατά την πρόσφατη οικονομική ύφεση· τέλος, πόσο συμβατό είναι με την παράγραφο 3 του άρθρου 6, όπως η διάταξη αυτή έχει ερμηνευθεί από την Ε.Ε.Κ.Δ., το ελληνικό νομοθετικό πλαίσιο για τη διαιτησία συλλογικών διαφορών εργασίας, μετά τις αλλαγές που επέφερε ο ισχύων ν. 4635/2019.

This study that is applied in Turkey, Eskisehir within private sector employees on the health sector aims to sort out the situation of female labor and its qualifications in Turkey and requirements by analyzing the European Social Charter.
The population of this study is private sector employees in the health sector in Eskişehir and the sample that is determined by quota sampling method within the administrative, health and auxiliary groups of both all male and female workers is 352 personnel from four different institutions. In the semi-structured interview form of the research; Cronbach's Alpha value of the Likert scale is measured as ,605 and the Cronbach's alpha value of another sequential scale which is related with the rate of incidence of potential cases for female workers at their work places is calculated as ,886. The significance level of the Chi-Square Tests which are applied to determine whether there is a statistically significant relationship between the descriptive factors is accepted as p <0.05.
The findings show that the disadvantageous situation of women still continues and the full integration to the European Social Charter’s clauses which are especially made reservation by Turkey such as The Right of Persons with Disabilities to Independence Social Integration&Participation in the Life of the Community, The Right to Safe&Healthy Working Conditions, The Right to Just Conditions of Work, The Right to a Fair Remuneration, The Right to Organise and Bargain Collectively, The Right of Children&Young Persons to Protection, The Right of Employed Women to Protection of Maternity is significant to supply an egalitarian working life.

ΔΙΑΓΡΑΜΜΑ
Ι. Εισαγωγή
ΙΙ. Η κατά το αρ. 24 ΑναθΕΚΧ προστασία από την απόλυση
Α. Οι «βάσιμοι λόγοι» απολύσεως κατά το αρ. 24 του ΑναθΕΚΧ
Β. Οι «μη βάσιμοι» λόγοι απολύσεως σύμφωνα με το αρ. 24 ΑναθΕΚΧ
ΙΙΙ. Η προστασία από την απόλυση μέσα από την μέχρι σήμερα ελληνική νομολογία
Α. Η νομολογιακή διάπλαση του αρ. 281 ΑΚ ως «ανάχωμα» στο ελληνικό σύστημα «αναιτιώδους» καταγγελίας
Β. Οι μη καταχρηστικοί λόγοι καταγγελίας της συμβάσεως εργασίας
Γ. Οι οικονομικοτεχνικοί λόγοι καταγγελίας της συμβάσεως εργασίας
ΙV. Σημεία συγκλίσεως και αποκλίσεως μεταξύ αρ. 24 ΑναθΕΚΧ και ελληνικής νομολογίας - νομοθεσίας
V. Η καταγγελία της συμβάσεως εργασίας μετά τον Ν. 4611/2019
Α. Η ύπαρξη «βασίμου λόγου» ως προϋπόθεση κύρους της καταγγελίας
Β. Η έννοια του «βασίμου λόγου» και η διάκρισή της από τον «σπουδαίο λόγο» της έκτακτης καταγγελίας
Γ. Ο δικαστικός έλεγχος του κύρους της καταγγελίας υπό το νέο νομοθετικό καθεστώς.
VI. Επίλογος

Boris Krivokapic
EUROPEAN SOCIAL CHARTER, Belgrade 2002, 120 Pp.
Summary

The book has nine chapters: I.Introduction, II.European Social Charter (1961), III.Additional Protocol (1988), IV.Protocol Ammending European Social Charter (1991), V.Additional Protocol Providing System of Collective Complains (1995), VI.Revised European Social Charter (1996), VII.Realisatio on the Charter, VIII.Concluding Remakrs.

Direct effect – primacy of the more protective standard: social rights litigation
before Greek courts
Sophia Koukoulis-Spiliotopoulos
ABSTRACT
Social rights are fully-fledged fundamental rights. They produce the same effects, according to the same criteria, as the other rights. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) and the EU Court of justice (CJEU) are confirming this. The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (EU Charter) expressing the indivisibility of fundamental rights proclaimed in its Preamble, ignores any categorisation and places social rights at the same level as the other rights. The ECtHR, draws from civil and political rights of the Convention economic and social rights that have the same effects as Convention provisions. The ECSR considers that the Social Charter provisions are invocable by individuals. The CJEU attributes direct effects to EU law provision, including those of the EU Charter, according to uniform criteria. The principle of the primacy of the more protective standard is included in all human rights treaties and in the EU Charter. The Greek Council of the State (Supreme Administrative Court) draws inspiration from this principle in order to extend the scope of constitutional rights on the basis of the Social Charter. It also draws inspiration from ECSR decisions in order to invalidate austerity measures that reduce pensions so as to affect the core of the right to social security and the pensioners’ dignity. Regarding forced labour, the ECtHR considers that the considerations of the Court of Audit are pertinent and condemns Greece due to coercive measures taken against the applicant by tax authorities.
Les droits sociaux, droits fondamentaux à part entière, le dialogue des juges
et l’approche des juridictions helléniques
Sophia Koukoulis-Spiliotopoulos
RÉSUMÉ
Les droits sociaux sont des droits fondamentaux à part entière. Ils produisent les mêmes effets juridiques, selon les mêmes critères, que les autres droits. La Cour européenne des droits de l’Homme (CourEDH), le Comité européen des droits sociaux (CEDS) et la Cour de justice de l’UE (CJUE) le confirment et font des références réciproques à leur jurisprudence. Le principe de la primauté de la norme la plus protectrice, énoncé dans les traités de droits de l’Homme et dans la Charte des droits fondamentaux de l’UE (Charte UE), conditionne l’interprétation de toute norme relative aux droits de l’Homme. La Charte UE ignore toute catégorisation et met les droits sociaux sur le même pied que les autres droits. La CourEDH, par le biais des obligations positives de l’État, dégage de la Convention des droits sociaux qui ont les mêmes effets que les droits civils et politiques, y compris la justiciabilité. Le CEDS souligne la justiciabilité des dispositions de la Charte sociale européenne. La CJUE reconnaît des effets directs à toute disposition du droit de l’UE, y compris celles de la Charte UE, selon les mêmes critères, sans distinction entre droits sociaux et autres droits. Le Conseil d’État hellénique étend la portée de droits constitutionnels se fondant sur la Charte sociale. Il s’inspire implicitement de décisions du CEDS pour invalider des mesures d’austérité réduisant des pensions au point d’affecter le noyau du droit à la sécurité sociale et la dignité des retraités. Concernant le travail forcé, interdit par l’article 4§2 de la Convention, la CourEDH juge pertinentes les considérations de la Cour des comptes, et condamne la Grèce en raison de contraintes imposées au requérant par les autorités fiscales. Par ailleurs, la CourEDH condamne la Grèce pour manquement des autorités policières et judiciaires à leurs obligations positives découlant de l’article 4§2 de la Convention.

The European Social Charter has recently received increased attention due to the evolution of its monitoring mechanism and the need to address a multitude of contemporary challenges to socioeconomic rights. Although the treaty's preamble has played a crucial role in the interpretation of substantive provisions and in shaping state obligations, little attention has been paid to the way in which the preamble has defined the fundamental lines of the 'jurisprudence' of the Charter's monitoring body. The European Committee of Social Rights has deduced from the Charter's preamble several important general principles for the protection of socioeconomic rights, on which it grounds its interpretation. This article analyses these principles and evaluates their effects in the relevant practice. The findings suggest that the Charter's preamble serves different purposes and performs multiple functions in international law, thus challenging the common assumption that human rights treaty preambles are empty phrases of a merely ceremonial nature.

L'article présente une histoire de l'émergence des droits sociaux fondamentaux sur la scène internationale, depuis ses balbutiements à la fin du 19e siècle, en passant par leur consécration dans le Traité de Versailles en 1919 et leur développement par l'Organisation internationale du travail durant l'entre-deux-guerres, puis par leur intégration au concept des droits de l'homme à la faveur de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, pour finir par la polarisation des droits civils et politiques, d'une part, et des droits économiques, sociaux et culturels, d'autre part, due au contexte de la Guerre froide. Il permet ainsi d'interroger quelques unes des idées préconçues que génère l'histoire des droits de l'homme et de revaloriser la place des droits sociaux fondamentaux dans cette évolution.

The article examines the role of civil society organizations in the creation and implementation of the European Social Charter standards. The text analyses the legal basis for non-governmental organizations’ participation in the proceedings before the monitoring body of the European social rights protection system, i.e. the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR), as well as the practical scope of influence of NGOs on the advancement of standards of protection of social rights. The article gives a special focus on the participation of NGOs in the reporting procedure and in the collective complaint procedure. The text also attempts to assess the efficacy of non-governmental organizations’ engagement in the European system of social rights protection, built
around the European Social Charter.

Vol. 9 Núm. 1
La protección de los derechos sociales constituye, hoy en día, un fin primordial, y en Europa, la Carta Social Europea Revisada juega un papel relevante como guardiana del modelo del Estado social, como verdadera Constitución Social de Europa y como el estándar de protección más elevado de los derechos sociales, en general, y de los derechos sociales emergentes, en particular. Así, resulta de especial interés estudiar el derecho de acceso a la información ambiental como derecho social emergente derivado, en gran parte, del genérico derecho a un medio ambiente sano. Este derecho se puede definir, en términos muy simples, como el derecho del público en general a recibir información relacionada con el medio ambiente. Este derecho no es una mera exigencia del Estado social, sino que constituye un mínimo vital y necesario para la dignidad inherente al ser humano, para hacer efectivo el ejercicio de los demás derechos y libertades, dependientes, en mayor o menor medida, por el medio ambiente y la información disponible del mismo. El presente trabajo analiza la materialización y evolución normativa y jurisprudencial de este derecho así como su reconocimiento y efectividad a través de la Carta Social Europea y la interpretación que hace su órgano de control, el Comité Europeo de Derechos Sociales, aludiendo a las convergencias y divergencias entre los sistemas de protección, e impulsando la necesaria y prioritaria aplicación de la CSE en virtud del principio favor libertatis.
PDF oficial en: https://www.upo.es/revistas/index.php/lex_social/article/view/3979

Observations sous l'arrêt du Conseil d'Etat n° 182.454 du 28 avril 2008. Réflexions autour de l'effet direct de la Charte sociale européenne (révisée), envisageant successivement l'invocabilité de celle-ci au contentieux objectif et la possibilité d'y trouver des droits subjectifs.

Without disregarding other measures under international law, related to article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and European Union law, this study focuses on the protection model of the European Social Charter, in relation to the right provided for in article 13 of this Charter, in Portugal and Spain. It analyzes the similarities and differences between these two countries regarding the ratification of the ESC provisions, considering its original version (1961), the Additional Protocol (1988) and the Revised European Social Charter (1996). It also analyzes the application of the rights of the ESC by the national courts, emphasizing the hierarchy of treaties ratified in each of the legal systems studied, as well as the importance of the control of conventionality. The adoption of measures, such as universal basic income, that recognize the social value of forms of work other than those remunerated by third parties, such as the reproductive and voluntary, are presented as a means of satisfying the right to a decent income.

The present hypothetical case explores the possibility of implementing extraterritorial obligations through the European Social Charter in the context of the eurozone crisis. As a condition to receive financial assistance, Greece has been tasked by the EU and the IMF with implementing an extremely ambitious, far-reaching structural adjustment programme. The national measures of implementation adopted by Greece have led to a severe deterioration in the provision of social services, and have decreased the protection of socioeconomic rights for vast portions of Greek society. This hypothetical admissibility decision illustrates the use of the collective complaints mechanism of the Charter as a means for the European Social Rights Committee to reaffirm the central place of social rights in the broader European constitutional architecture.
Going beyond the raft of collective complaints presently pending before the Committee relating to the austerity measures in Greece, the complainant organization in this fictional case addresses its legal challenge to all Eurozone member states that have accepted the jurisdiction of the Committee to receive collective complaints. It is argued that all nine states share responsibility for the violation of social rights in Greece, on the grounds that by negotiating, designing, implementing and funding the ‘Greek bail-out’ these States have jointly produced the conditions for the violation of the Charter on an unprecedented scale. The case discusses issues of responsibility – both in attribution and in allocation between states and international organization –, tackles the question of implicit jurisdictional limits in international law, and illustrates the complex interactions between human rights law, EU law, and the extraterritorial dimensions of social rights within the European project.

Monografia udziela odpowiedzi na pytanie, jak normy prawne, a w szczególności prawa człowieka kształtują status jednostki skrajnie ubogiej oraz w jaki sposób może ono przyczynić się do przeciwdziałania skrajnemu ubóstwu.
W książce poddano analizie akty prawne mające szczególne znaczenie dla sytuacji prawnej jednostek żyjących w skrajnym ubóstwie, zarówno te prawnie wiążące, jak i o charakterze soft law. Uwzględniono również orzecznictwo krajowych i międzynarodowych organów zajmujących się kontrolą przestrzegania praw człowieka.
Konstytucyjny oraz międzynarodowy standard ochrony praw człowieka skrajnie ubogiego został skonfrontowany z polskim prawodawstwem, pozwalając na zidentyfikowanie deficytów jego realizacji przez władze publiczne.

In Judgment No. 194/2018, the Italian Constitutional Court has applied Art. 24, European Social Charter, as interposed parameter, in order to declare Art. 3.1, D.Lgs. 23/2015 unconstitutional, for the part that establishes a fixed and predetermined indemnity in favour of the worker, in case of unjustified dismissal. Art. 24 ESC has been interpreted in accordance with the European Committee of Social Rights’ decision in Finnish Society of Social Rights v. Finland, even though the Committee’s decisions are not considered binding by this Court, but just authoritative.  The application of the ESC norm has been made possible mainly through Art. 117.1 Italian Constitution, which binds the Italian legislator to comply with international obligations, consistently with a recent constitutional precedent (Judgment No. 120/2018). Although ILO Convention No. 158/1982 is inapplicable in the Italian legal system, as the State has not signed it, the Court refers to it, by emphasising that Art. 24 ESC is inspired by that Convention, which is, at the same time, in line with the right to work protected under Art. 35.3 Italian Constitution that “promotes and encourages international agreements and organisations which have the aim of establishing and regulating labour rights”.