International Protection of Socio-Economic Rights: An Interactional Approach

This book argues that there are weaknesses in the international systems of socio-economic rights protection and that these weaknesses can be mitigated or overcome through the practice of interaction between these systems. The work examines international protection of socio-economic rights and shows that it is vulnerable in terms of its personal and material scope, its content and the extent of permissible limitations.

Against this background, it explores the role of interaction between legal orders as a tool for improving this protection. Based on a large-scale survey of explicit cross-referencing across a substantial number of monitoring bodies and systems in cases and other jurisprudential outputs, the book assesses the extent to which interaction takes place in the context of the international protection of socio-economic rights. Drawing on its own conceptual framework of interaction between legal orders, it then illustrates the dynamics of how interaction has been used to mitigate or overcome the weaknesses of international protection and to advance this protection. While also recognizing the shortcomings, the work calls for better interactive practices and sets out criteria that should inform interactive practices going forward.

The book will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers, judges and policy-makers working in the areas of International Human Rights Law, Social Justice, Political Science and International Relations.