Reclaiming Social Rights: International and Comparative Perspectives

This text deals with the status of social rights as human rights, the nature of their relationship to civil and political rights, the means by which they can be put into practise at the national level, and the role which can be played by various actors to strengthen the existing international framework. It synthesizes a range of disparate, current developments to shed light on social rights and strategies for their implementation. These range from social action litigation to which the Indian Supreme Court has responded positively, through the World Bank’s Inspection Panel and the International Commission of Jurists’ Bangalore declaration and plan of action, to constitutional debates in Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. Its emphasis is upon the national as opposed to the international level. This study is not aimed at international law specialists, but those working directly in fields related to social rights. It examines the shortcomings of international measures to promote social rights and points the way to strategies that could be used in the future. This provides a starting point for groups at both the domestic and international levels.