The Future of Economic and Social Rights

Captures significant transformations in the theory and practice of economic and social rights in constitutional and human rights law.

Katharine G. Young (Edited by), Amartya Sen (Foreword by)

9781108418133, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 11 April 2019

706 pages, 12 b/w illus. 6 tables
23.4 x 15.6 x 4.1 cm, 1.1 kg

'Economic and social rights are the future, whether through their realization, contributing to political stability and distributive justice, or through their denial, creating the space for individual and collective disempowerment, rising inequalities, political unrest and social conflict. The thought-provoking perspectives of the contributors to this book offer a nuanced understanding of both possibilities and of what lies in between.' Virgínia Brás Gomes, Chair of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The future of economic and social rights is unlikely to resemble its past. Neglected within the human rights movement, avoided by courts, and subsumed within a single-minded conception of development as economic growth, economic and social rights enjoyed an uncertain status in international human rights law and in the public laws of most countries. However, today, under conditions of immense poverty, insecurity, and political instability, the rights to education, health care, housing, social security, food, water, and sanitation are central components of the human rights agenda. The Future of Economic and Social Rights captures the significant transformations occurring in the theory and practice of economic and social rights, in constitutional and human rights law. Professor Katharine G. Young brings together a group of distinguished scholars from diverse disciplines to examine and advance the broad research field of economic and social rights that incorporates legal, political science, economic, philosophy and anthropology scholars.

Foreword Amartya Sen
1. Introduction Katharine G. Young
Part I. Adjudication and Rights: Global Trends: 2. Justiciable and aspirational ESRs in national constitutions Evan Rosevear, Ran Hirschl and Courtney Jung
3. Judicial politics and social rights Malcolm Langford
4. Constitutional non-transformation? Socioeconomic rights beyond the poor David Landau and Rosalind Dixon
Part II. Adjudication and Rights in Context: Two Contrasts: 5. The Right to Education in the American State Courts Michael A. Rebell
6. Legislating human rights – experience of the right to Education Act in India Arghya Sengupta, Ajey Sangai, Shruti Ambast and Akriti Gaur
Part III. Adjudication and Rights: Democracy and Courts: 7. The participatory democratic turn in South Africa's social rights jurisprudence Sandra Liebenberg
8. Why do we care about dialogue? 'Notwithstanding clause', 'meaningful engagement' and public hearings: a sympathetic but critical analysis Roberto Gargarella
9. Empowered participatory jurisprudence: experimentation, deliberation and norms in socioeconomic rights adjudication César Rodríguez-Garavito
10. Courts and economic and social rights/ courts as economic and social rights Judith Resnik
Part IV. Economic and Social Rights in Retrenchment: Past and Future: 11. The future of social rights: social rights as capstone Jeff King
12. The present limits and future potential of European social constitutionalism Colm O'Cinneide
13. Canada's confounding experience with health rights litigation and the search for a silver lining Colleen M. Flood, Bryan Thomas and David Rodriguez
14. Universal basic income as a social rights-based antidote to growing economic insecurity Philip Alston
Part V. Economic and Social Rights in Development: Local and Global Trajectories: 15. Rights as logistics: notes on the right to food and food retail liberalization in India Amy J. Cohen and Jason Jackson
16. Human rights, investment and the rights-ification of development: the practice of 'human rights impact assessments' in large-scale foreign investments in natural resources Jeremy Perelman
17. Human rights testimony in a different pitch: speaking political power Lucie White
18. Grassroots lawfare: how South Africa's urban poor use land as a legal instrument Kerry Ryan Chance
Part VI. Rights and Accountability: Emerging Doctrines, Evolving Concepts: 19. Public budget analysis for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights: conceptual framework and practical implementation Olivier De Schutter
20. Bridging the gap: the evolving doctrine on ESCR and 'maximum available resources Rodrigo Uprimny, Sergio Chaparro and Andrés Castro Araújo
21. Waiting for rights: progressive realization and lost time Katharine G. Young.

Subject Areas: International human rights law [LBBR], Human rights [JPVH], International relations [JPS]