Reporting system of the European Social Charter

The reporting system is formally governed by Articles 21-29 of the 1961 Charter.

In the framework of this monitoring system, States Parties regularly submit a report on the implementation of the Charter in law and in practice. These reports are examined by the European Committee of Social Rights, which decides whether the national situations they describe comply with the Charter. The decisions adopted by the European Committee of Social Rights in the framework of the reporting system, called "conclusions", are published every year. They can be consulted using the European Social Charter HUDOC Database. When the European Committee of Social Rights concludes that a situation is not in conformity, the State Party concerned has to bring the situation into conformity.

The follow-up of the conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights is ensured by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which intervenes in the last stage of the Reporting System. Its work is prepared by the Governmental Committee of the European Social Charter and the European Code of Social Security, comprising representatives of the States parties to the Charter and assisted by observers representing European employers’ organisations and trade unions.

Having regard to the proposals made by the Governmental Committee, the Committee of Ministers adopts a Resolution closing each supervision cycle and may contain individual recommendations to the States parties concerned. If a State takes no action, the Committee of Ministers, on a proposal from the Governmental Committee, may address a Recommendation to that State, asking it to change the situation in law and/or in practice.

Ultimately, it falls to the European Committee of Social Rights to determine whether the situation has been brought into compliance with the Charter. This is done by the Committee in the framework of the reporting system or the collective complaints procedure.

More on the reporting system

National Reports

National reports can be consulted on the country profiles web pages.

Please note that reports are published in the form they are submitted by States Parties that are responsible for their content.

European committee of social rights questions to States parties

European Committee of Social Rights targeted questions to States Parties of the European Social Charter relating to thematic group 4 on "children, families and migrants" for Conclusions 2023:

States are invited to report on thematic group 4 by 31 December 2022. States' reports will be examined by the European Committee of Social Rights in 2023. Consequently, trade unions, employers’ organisations, non-governmental organisations, national human rights institutions and national equality bodies are invited to submit their comments on national reports for this cycle by 30 June 2023.

Ad Hoc Reports

In accordance with the decision of the Ministers’ Deputies adopted on 27 September 2022 concerning the new system for the presentation of reports under the European Social Charter, the European Committee of Social Rights and the Governmental Committee have decided to request an ad hoc report on the cost-of-living crisis to all State parties.

The report should be sent in electronic form to [email protected]t, by 31 December 2023.

Questions

latest conclusions

Conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights 2022 (Labour rights)
Conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights 2021 (Health, social security and social protection)
Conclusions of the European Committee of Social RIghts 2020 (Employment, training and equal opportunities)
Conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights 2019 (Children, family and migrants)
Conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights 2018 (Labour rights)

conclusions on hudoc

The HUDOC Database of the European Social Charter allows users to make an in-depth research on the conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights in the framework of the Reporting System, as well as on Resolutions and Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers in the framework of the follow-up procedure.

Conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights on HUDOC

Resolutions and Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on HUDOC

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Back The 2019 Activity Report of the European Committee of Social Rights is available

The report provides information about the work of the European Committee of Social Rights carried out in 2019 under the European Social Charter’s monitoring mechanisms: the reporting procedure and the collective complaints procedure, as well as under the procedure on non-accepted provisions of the Charter. In addition, the report includes information about the relations of the Committee with Council of Europe bodies and with other international organisations and partners.

Under the reporting procedure, in 2019 the European Committee of Social Rights examined in 37 national reports presented by States Parties to the Charter describing how they implement the Charter in law and in practice as regards the provisions covered by the thematic group “Children, Families and Migrants”. The Committee adopted a total of 896 conclusions including 289 cases of non-conformity and 453 cases of conformity. In 154 cases the Committee was unable to assess the situation due to lack of information and postponed its conclusion.

The main findings under the reporting procedure concern child labour, including illegally working children in the formal and informal economy, as well as the protection of children from all forms of violence, abuse and exploitation.

The Committee is increasingly concerned about the treatment of children in an irregular migration situation, whether they be accompanied or not, and asylum-seeking children, in particular their access to appropriate and safe accommodation.

Moreover, the Committee also highlights the issue of child poverty and social exclusion, emphasising the obligation of States Parties to take all appropriate and necessary measures to combat and eradicate these phenomena.

As to the collective complaints procedure, 15 new complaints were lodged in 2019 against 6 States Parties. The Committee adopted 20 decisions on the merits and 11 on admissibility, including 3 decisions declaring the complaints inadmissible and 3 decisions declaring complaints admissible and indicating immediate measures.

Decisions on the merits related for example to the ceiling to compensation in situations of unfair dismissal in Italy; the right of elderly persons to social protection against financial exploitation in France; the right of access to education and care for children who have not reached mandatory school age and whose parents are unemployed or on maternity, paternity or parental leave in Finland; and the right to equal pay for women and men and equal opportunities in the workplace in all the 15 States that have accepted the complaints procedure.

In addition, the Committee held several meetings and exchanges with other institutions and bodies, such as the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union, the United Nations, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Academic Network on the European Social Charter and Social Rights (ANESC).