Should Social Rights Be Included in Interpretations of the Convention by the European Court of Human Rights?

Abstract

The European Court of Human Rights frequently incorporates socio-economic rights in its applications of the Convention as a result of its broad interpretations of civil and political rights, while at the same time emphasising that the Convention does not actually entail socio-economic rights. This article analyses the arguments concerning the inclusion of social rights in the Court's interpretation of the provisions of the Convention. Analysis is through use of a case law study which examines how the Court legitimises the inclusion of social rights in its interpretations of the Convention despite their absence from the text of the Convention itself. Existing social rights arguments are categorised under the Convention rights provisions, revealing the extent to which including social rights within the interpretations of the Convention provisions has become established practice.