scholarly journals Welfare sanctions and the right to a subsistence minimum: A troubled marriage

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-272
Author(s):  
Valery Gantchev
Keyword(s):  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Social Assistance ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Subsistence Minimum ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Right

Can welfare sanctions and the right to a subsistence minimum coexist? The present article sheds light on this question by examining recent developments in German social assistance law and placing them in the broader international legal context. In November 2019, the German Constitutional Court declared a large portion of the applicable regime unconstitutional because it violated the basic right to a guaranteed subsistence minimum. The first part of the article examines this German basic right and the way its normative requirements are applied by the Constitutional Court to welfare sanctions. Two important points of reference which are discussed relate to the effectiveness of the measures and the availability of sanction mitigation instruments that safeguard the constitutionally guaranteed subsistence minimum. The second part of the article carries out a similar examination into the international human right to social assistance and the respective case law of the international supervisory bodies. A comparative legal analysis is carried out in the third part, which highlights the similarities between the German and the international legal approach to minimum social protection and welfare sanctions. The article concludes with the observation that welfare sanctions and the right to a subsistence minimum can only coexist under the condition that states respect the absolute nature of minimum social protection and reconcile the adopted measures with the primary objective of social assistance: reintegration and social inclusion.

The Irish “Bail-Out” and Cuts to Social Protection Spending— the Case for a Right to a Subsistence Minimum in EU Law

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 569-597
Author(s):  
Roderic O'Gorman
Keyword(s):  
Social Protection ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Welfare Benefits ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
European Court ◽  
Subsistence Minimum ◽  
German Constitutional Court ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Bail Out

As part of the 2010 EU/IMF economic adjustment program or “bail-out,” the Irish Government was required to undertake billions of euros in cuts to social protection spending over a three-year period. These have been implemented in subsequent budgets, resulting in increased levels of poverty and social exclusion. In light of these impacts on social rights in Ireland and other Member States, this article argues that the outcome of such Union legislative measures should be subject to some degree of rights-based scrutiny. It examines how, in theHartz IVdecision, the German Constitutional Court ruled that an attempt by the German Government to pass legislation that significantly cut a range of social welfare benefits breached the fundamental right to a subsistence minimum under the German Basic Law. Drawing inspiration from the approach of the German Constitutional Court, the article argues that the two elements of the German Basic Law which grounded that decision—the right to human dignity (Article 1(1)) and the social state principle (Article 20(1))—are both present within the Union Treaties as a result of changes occasioned by the Lisbon Treaty. The article advocates that the European Court of Justice should discover such a right within Union law and use it as a tool to analyze the impact of future cuts mandated by Union institutions on the economically disadvantaged.

Theories of the food insecurity ‘problem’ and the right to food ‘solution’

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Lambie-Mumford
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Social Acceptability ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Right To Food ◽  
The Social ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right ◽  
Sufficient Food

Chapter 3 sets out the key theories with which the book engages: food insecurity and the human right to food. Following on from a conceptualisation and definition of food insecurity, the right to food is introduced. Emphasis is placed on normative element of ‘adequacy and sustainability of food availability and access’ and on the state’s obligation to ‘respect, protect and fulfil the right to food’. Theories of ‘othering’ and ‘agency’ are employed to assess the social acceptability of emergency food systems as a means of acquiring food, and the power of providers to make sufficient food available through these systems and of potential recipients to access it. Theories of ‘care’ and ‘social protection’ are employed to explore the ways in which charitable providers are in practice taking responsibility for the duty to respect, protect and fulfil the right to food and how shifts in welfare policy are affecting need for this provision.

scholarly journals The Human Right to Political Participation

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabienne Peter
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Legal Philosophy ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Political Conception ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Right ◽  
Governance Processes ◽  
Central Claim

In recent developments in political and legal philosophy, there is a tendency to endorse minimalist lists of human rights that do not include a right to political participation. Against such tendencies, I shall argue that the right to political participation, understood as distinct from a right to democracy, should have a place even on minimalist lists. In addition, I shall defend the need to extend the right to political participation to include participation not just in national, but also in international and global governance processes. The argument will be based on a cosmopolitan conception of political legitimacy and on a political conception of human rights that is normatively anchored in legitimacy. The central claim of my paper is that a right to political participation is necessary – but not sufficient – for political legitimacy in the global realm.

scholarly journals Fundamentos constitucionais da proteção social: continuidades e ruturas

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Rita Ferreira ◽  
Daniel Carolo ◽  
Mariana Trigo Pereira ◽  
Pedro Adão e Silva
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Political Action ◽  
The Political ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Universal Principles ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Choices ◽  
The Right

This article discusses the ways in which the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic has embodied to the political choices made during the process of creating and defining a democratic welfare state and how the various constitutional principles are reflected in the architecture of the system and have gradually changed over the years. The authors argue that when Portugal transitioned to democracy, unlike other areas of the country’s social policies the social security system retained some of its earlier organising principles. Having said this, this resilience on the part of the Portuguese system’s Bismarckian template has not prevented social protection from expanding here in accordance with universal principles, and has given successive governments manoeuvring room in which to define programmatically distinct policies and implement differentiated reformist strategies. The paper concludes by arguing that while the Constitution has not placed an insurmountable limit on governments’ political action, it has served as a point of veto, namely by means of the way in which the Constitutional Court has defended the right to social protection, be it in the form of social insurance, be it in the imposition of certain social minima.

The Constitutional Right to Asylum and Humanitarianism in Indonesian Law: “Foreign Refugees” and PR 125/2016

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Bilal Dewansyah ◽  
Ratu Durotun Nafisah
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Control Approach ◽  
Immigration Control ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
The Right ◽  
Asylum Seekers And Refugees

Abstract Article 28G(2) in Indonesia’s 1945 Constitution reflects a human rights approach to asylum; it guarantees “the right to obtain political asylum from another country,” together with freedom from torture. It imposes an obligation upon the state to give access to basic rights to those to whom it offers asylum, following an appropriate determination procedure. By contrast, in Presidential Regulation No. 125 of 2016 concerning the Treatment of Refugees, the Indonesian government’s response to asylum seekers and refugees is conceptualized as “humanitarian assistance,” and through a politicized and securitized immigration-control approach. We argue that the competition between these three approaches—the human right to asylum, humanitarianism, and immigration control—constitutes a “triangulation” of asylum and refugee protection in Indonesia, in which the latter two prevail. In light of this framework, this article provides a socio-political and legal analysis of why Article 28G(2) has not been widely accepted as the basis of asylum and refugee protection in Indonesia.

The Machinery of International Law and Democratic Backsliding

2021 ◽  
pp. 136-146
Author(s):  
Tom Ginsburg
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
International Law ◽  
Term Limits ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Constitutional Amendments ◽  
The World ◽  
International Rights ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right

This chapter focuses on the abuse of international rights to political participation so as to facilitate a leader's remaining in office beyond the constitutionally mandated term. This involves not only the abuse of the interpretation of rights, but also the abuse of the doctrine of unconstitutional constitutional amendments, which has spread around the world in recent years. How does this happen and what, if anything, can international law do about it? After introducing a motivating case — the famous decision of the Colombian Constitutional Court in the second re-election decision, in which courts stood for the protection of democracy — the chapter examines recent 'bad' cases in which rights and constitutional amendments are abused to extend leaders' terms. It surveys recent developments in the law of term limits, and briefly proposes a normative interpretation of the right to political participation which ought to be consistent with the emerging doctrine. The chapter suggests that there is an emerging consensus, at least in some regions of the world, that there are limits in states' ability to modify term limits unconditionally.

The Human Right to Water in South Africa and the Mazibuko Decisions

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 521-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Humby ◽  
Maryse Grandbois
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
The South ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Lower Courts ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
South African Constitution ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Of Access

The right of access to sufficient water in the South African Constitution has for long been regarded as progressive in a global context where the human right to water is still a subject of contention. In its recent decision handed down in the Mazibuko matter, the South African Constitutional Court interpreted the right of access to sufficient water for the first time and clarified the nature of the State’s obligations which flow from this right. It also commented upon the role of the courts in adjudicating the human right to water. This article describes the passage of the Mazibuko matter and the manner in which the lower courts interpreted the right of access to “sufficient water” as well as outlining the Constitutional Court’s decision in the context of access to water services provision in South Africa.

scholarly journals Konsistensi Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi dalam Pengujian Beberapa Undang-Undang Terkait Kesehatan

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 763
Author(s):  
Ade Irawan Taufik
Keyword(s):  
Judicial Review ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Private Matter ◽  
The Right ◽  
Material Tests

 Timbulnya pengakuan kesehatan sebagai hak asasi menunjukan perubahan paradigma yang luar biasa, karena kesehatan tidak lagi dipandang hanya sebagai urusan pribadi namun sebagai bentuk tanggung jawab negara dan hak hukum (legal rights). Tujuan diberlakukannya berbagai undang-undang terkait kesehatan adalah untuk memberikan jaminan konstitusionalitas hak atas kesehatan, namun dengan diberlakukannya berbagai undang-undang tersebut tidak berarti terjaminnya hak konstitusional atas kesehatan, hal ini tergambar dengan banyaknya uji materi terhadap berbagai undang-undang tersebut. Banyaknya permohonan uji materi tersebut menarik untuk diteliti terhadap prinsip-prinsip atau asas-asas yang melandasi materi muatan berbagai undang-undang terkait kesehatan dan konsistensi antar putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi (MK) dan konsistensi Putusan MK dengan prinsip atau asas yang melandasi materi muatan undang-undang terkait kesehatan. Dengan menggunakan metode penelitian yuridis normatif disimpulkan bahwa prinsip-prinsip atau asas mempunyai arti penting sebagai landasan materi undang-undang sehingga dapat dijadikan sebagai batu uji dalam melakukan pengujian undang-undang. Kesimpulan lainnya yakni terdapat inkonsistensi antar putusan MK dan inkonsistensi putusan MK dengan prinsip atas asas yang melandasi materi muatan berbagai undang-undang terkait kesehatan.The emergence of the recognition of health as a human right shows an extraordinary paradigm shift, because health is no longer seen only as a private matter but as a form of state responsibility and legal rights. The purpose of the enactment of various laws related to health is to provide a constitutional guarantee of the right to health, however, the enactment of these various laws does not mean the guarantee of constitutional rights to health, this is showed by the number of judicial review of various laws. The number of requests for material tests is interesting to be examined on the principles that underlie the contents of various health related to laws and consistency between decisions of the Constitutional Court (MK) and consistency of decisions of the Constitutional Court to the principles that underlie the content of laws related to health. By using the normative juridical research method, it can be concluded that principles have an important meaning as a basis for the material of the law so that they can be used as a touchstone in conducting the testing of laws. Another conclusion is that there are inconsistencies between the Constitutional Court's decisions and the inconsistency of the Constitutional Court's decision to the principle on the basis of the material content of various laws related to health.

scholarly journals The natural human right to security and security as a constitutional human right

2020 ◽  
pp. 219-233
Author(s):  
Jadwiga Potrzeszcz
Keyword(s):  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
The State ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Positive Law ◽  
The Right

In this article it was formulated the thesis on the existence of a natural hu­man right to security, and subsequently the analyse of the issue of the relation­ship between the natural human right to security and security as a constitutional human right. The primary objective of the research was to answer the question whether the natural human right to security influences the existence of security as a human right, guaranteed by positive law, in particular in constitutional law. The above analysis of the provisions of the Polish Constitution proved that the right to security as a constitutional human right was not expressly stated in any of these provisions. Certainly, the formulation of an explicit constitutional human right to security raises concerns about the scope of the citizen’s ability to enforce this right from the state, e.g. by means of a constitutional complaint. Regardless of the difficulties raised, it is worth interpreting the constitution­al human right to security from all the regulations of the Polish Constitution as a function of fundamental rights. In justified individual cases of violations, the constitutional human right to security may be derived from art. 30 of the Pol­ish Constitution, which stipulates that the inherent and inalienable dignity of man is the source of his rights and freedoms.

scholarly journals THE RIGHT TO HUMAN DIGNITY IN THE SYSTEM OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF UKRAINE AND GERMANY

2020 ◽  
pp. 27-32
Author(s):  
O. Kosilova
Keyword(s):  
Human Dignity ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Eral Republic ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Fundamental Value ◽  
The Right

The article analyzes human dignity as a legal category and fundamental natural human right. The place and role of the right to human dignity in the system of constitutional rights of Ukraine and Germany are compared. The scientific substantiation of the right to human dignity in Ukraine and Germany, its normative protection in both countries, is investigated. The approaches to defining and interpreting the right to human dignity in the practice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany are compared. The relationship between the right to human dignity and other human rights is determined, as well as the sphere of protection of this right. In particular, there are parallels between the right to life and the right to human dignity, and their relationship is determined. It is substantiated that the human life and dignity of each person enjoy the same constitutional protection regardless of the duration of the individual's physical existence. It is established that among Ukrainian scholars there is no unified view of the right to dignity as a fundamental natural right. The right to human dignity in Ukraine is enshrined in the norms of constitutional, civil and criminal law. For the most part, the protection of the right to human dignity is correlated with the right to the protection of honour and goodwill. The right to human dignity and honour are not clearly distinguished. The legisla- tion of Ukraine does not contain a legal norm defining the concept of the right to human dignity. The case-law of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in this area is not sufficiently developed and does not constitute a proper legal framework. In Germany, the right to human dignity is a decisive and fundamental human right that is fundamental to all other rights. Human dignity is the supreme fundamental value and the root of all fundamental rights. The right to human dignity enshrined in Article 1 of the Constitution of the Fed- eral Republic of Germany defines it as an absolute value, which means that it cannot be restricted by any other norm, even by another fundamental right that follows from human dignity.

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