The European Social Charter is based on what is termed a ratification system, enabling States, under certain circumstances, to choose the provisions they are willing to accept as binding international legal obligations.

Under this system, each Party undertakes:

  • to consider Part I of the Charter as a declaration of the aims which it will pursue by all appropriate means, as stated in the introductory paragraph of that part;
  • to consider itself bound by at least six of the following nine articles of Part II of this Charter: Articles 1, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 16, 19 and 20 (in the corresponding provision of the 1961 Charter the Articles referred to were Articles 1, 5, 6, 12, 13, 16 and 19);
  • to consider itself bound by an additional number of articles or numbered paragraphs of Part II of the Charter which it may select, provided that the total number of articles or numbered paragraphs by which it is bound is not less than sixteen articles or sixty-three numbered paragraphs (in the corresponding provision of the 1961 Charter, the total number of articles or numbered paragraphs was supposed not to be less than 10 articles or 45 numbered paragraphs).

Table of provisions accepted by States Parties to the European Social Charter

 

  With a view to encourage States Parties to progressively accept all the Charter’s provisions, Article 22 of the 1961 Charter provides that the States concerned shall send to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, at appropriate intervals and as requested by the Committee of Ministers, reports relating to the provisions of Part II of the Charter which they did not accept at the time of their ratification or approval or in a subsequent notification. It also provides that the Committee of Ministers shall determine, from time to time, in respect of which provisions such reports shall be requested and the form of the reports to be provided.

More on the procedure on non-accepted provisions

 

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Back States Parties to the European Social Charter are invited to report on health, social security and social protection by 31 December 2020

States Parties to the European Social Charter are invited to report on health, social security and social protection by 31 December 2020

The European Committee of Social Rights transmitted the questions to States Parties of the Revised European Social Charter and the 1961 Charter relating to the provisions belonging to the thematic group 2 on health, social security and social protection under the reporting procedure. States parties are invited to report on the accepted provisions under the following articles: Article 3 (the right to safe and healthy working conditions), Article 11 (the right to protection of health), Article 12 (the right to social security), Article 13 (the right to social and medical assistance), Article 14, (the right to benefit from social welfare services), Article 23 or Article 4 of the of the Additional Protocol (the right of elderly persons to social protection), and Article 30 (the right to protection against poverty and social exclusion).

As in 2019, the European Committee of Social Rights, wishing to focus its monitoring and to alleviate the reporting burden of States, invites States Parties to limit the report to replies to specific and targeted questions for each of the above-mentioned articles of the Charter, without prejudice to responding to issues still pending from previous reporting cycles.

This is a result of the work carried out by the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) to identify good practices through a report with a view to improving the implementation of social rights in Europe and the proposals made by the European Committee of Social Rights which aim to render the reporting procedure under the European Social Charter more effective and targeted.

As the questions were addressed to states later than usual, the European Committee of Social Rights invites countries to submit their reports by 31 December 2020 (instead of end of October). Similarly, the Committee extends the period for submission of comments on national reports by trade unions, employers’ organisations and non-governmental organisations until 30 June 2021 (instead of the usual 30 April deadline).

Strasbourg, France 27/07/2020
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Department of Social Rights

Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law
Council of Europe
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