European Committee of Social Rights

The European Committee of Social Rights is the monitoring body of the European Social Charter. It is composed of 15 independent, impartial members which are elected by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers for a period of six years, renewable once.

The European Committee of Social Rights rules on the conformity of the situation in States with the Charter under two complementary mechanisms: through collective complaints lodged by the social partners and governmental organisations (collective complaints procedure), and through national reports drawn up by the States Parties (reporting procedure).

States Parties have an obligation to cooperate with the Committee and its jurisprudence (both “decisions” in complaints and “conclusions” on the basis of national reports). This obligation arises from the application of the principle of good faith to the observance of all treaty obligations. For States Parties to ignore or not take into account the Committee’s decisions and conclusions would be to fail to show good faith in implementing their Charter-based obligations.

Members

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Monitoring procedures

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Activity Reports

Indietro Reinforcing social rights protection in Europe: to achieve greater unity and equality

Expert seminar

The Department of the European Social Charter organised, under the auspices of the French Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, an expert seminar to discuss the protection of social rights in Europe so as to achieve greater unity and equality. The seminar also followed up on the Committee of Ministers declaration at its Helsinki session in May 2019. At that session, the Committee of Ministers invited all the member States concerned to consider signing and ratifying the revised European Social Charter and its Additional Protocol providing for a system of collective complaints, as a starting point for a resolutely proactive and collective drive to combat inequalities and achieve greater social justice.

The European Social Charter and the European Committee of Social rights guarantee key principles such as free movement of persons, non-discrimination, legal and social security, protection against poverty and exclusion, access to decent housing, health, education and training, as well as employment, safety at work and equality at the workplace, including equal pay.

Participants were welcomed by Ambassador Jean-Baptiste Mattéi, Ambassador of France to the Council of Europe, and Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe. An introduction on strengthening social rights to ensure social justice, national cohesion and the rule of law was pronounced by José Fernandez-Albertos, Researcher at Institute for Policies and Public Goods, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).

The seminar was organised in liaison with the “Institut de recherche Carré de Malberg”, University of Strasbourg.