Procedure on non-accepted provisions of the European Social Charter

The procedure on non-accepted provisions aims to encourage States Parties to progressively accept all the Charter’s provisions, as it is in the spirit of the Charter.

As per Article 22 of the 1961 Charter, the Committee of Ministers can ask States to send reports at appropriate intervals relating to provisions of the Charter which they did not accept at the time of their ratification or approval or in a subsequent notification. The implementation of this provision became effective after a 2002 decision of the Committee of Ministers, following which States having ratified the Revised European Social Charter must report on the non-accepted provisions every five years after the date of ratification.

The procedure for the implementation of Article 22 on non-accepted provisions became effective by a decision of the Committee of Ministers adopted on 11 December 2002 at the 821st meeting of the Ministers' deputies, whereby States having ratified the Revised European Social Charter are to report on non-accepted provisions every five years after the date of ratification, and the European Committee of Social Rights is invited to examine the information provided by the States concerned.

Considering the objective of strengthening the impact of the European Social Charter, the Committee of Ministers adopted a new decision on 11 December 2019 at the 1363rd meeting of the Ministers’ deputies inviting “the ECSR to make full use of the opportunities for dialogue offered by Article 22 and to include in this exercise a dialogue with the member States that are not yet Party to the revised Charter, with a view to encouraging them to ratify it”.

In September 2022, the European Committee of Social Rights adopted a decision to henceforth implement the adjusted procedure on non-accepted provisions in a reinforced manner, for all States Parties to either Charter (the 1961 version or the 1996 version). In October 2023, the European Committee of Social Rights amended the deadline for the submission of written information on the non-accepted provisions by the States Parties, from 30 June to 31 March.

Detailed information on the provisions not accepted by States Parties and reports adopted by the European Committee of Social Rights on these provisions may be consulted in the country by country tables presented below.

Reports on non-accepted provisions per country

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Back Taking Stock of the European Social Charter at 60

The University of Nottingham Human Rights Law Centre, together with the  Roma Tre Centro Internazionale di Ricerca ‘Diritto e Globalizzazione’ and with the support of the European Social Charter Department of the Council of Europe, invite you to the 1st event, organised in the framework of the 60th anniversary of the 1961 European Social Charter. Featuring expert speakers, this workshop focused on ‘taking stock’ of the Charter and the work of its supervisory body – the European Committee of Social Rights – so far.  The event took place online on 28 April, 10:00-13:30 GMT. The working language was English.

The European Social Charter system is the oldest and most wide-ranging instrument providing for social rights in Europe. From the gender pay gap to the rights of migrants and unaccompanied children, from older persons’ rights to right to strike, the Charter has proved a living instrument capable of engaging with the challenges faced by Europeans in the 60 years since its adoption. Despite this, the system remains frequently neglected and misunderstood both by social rights and human rights law actors. This event will both celebrate and critique the European Social Charter system in light of the legal, social and political factors that have shaped it since 1961.  

Speakers addressed:

Key thematic areas in terms of the European Social Charter, including older person’s rights, children’s rights, the right to health, and equality and non-discrimination
The European Social Charter’s contribution to a European model of social rights
Key institutional developments throughout the history of the system and the reasons for those developments

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