유럽사회헌장(ESC)과 사회적 권리에 관한 유럽위원회(ECSR)에 관한 소고: 사회적 권리에 관한 유럽위원회(ECSR)의 해석적 역할에 주목하며

The European Social Charter (ESC) has since its origin in 1961 undergone a significant evolution, culminating in a quasi-bill of rights for economic and social issues in Europe. While it has long been understood that economic and social rights are fundamentally different from civil and political rights, as the former essentially require positive policy measures taken by states at a national level, recent developments in international human rights law indicate that these differences are becoming smaller. “Rights” in this sense essentially do not remain static, but rather are inherently dynamic over time; economic and social rights are no exception. Monitoring mechanisms for compliance with the ESC by state parties have been upgraded through the introduction of the collective complaints procedure under the 1995 Protocol, and the development of relevant practice in this regard has been quite significant. In particular the ECSR, as an authoritative, quasi-judicial body, has played a crucial role in protecting the status of economic and social rights under the ESC. The ECSR has actively participated in ESC practice by engaging in the review of periodic reports regarding compliance with the ESC submitted by state parties and the collective complaints procedure raised by relevant actors, including NGOs. In other words, the ECSR, with its interpretive roles, has contributed to the consolidation and deepening of jurisprudence with regard to economic and social rights in Europe. The present monitoring mechanism under the ESC is imperfect. The negative political impacts of the Committee of Ministers with regard to the enforcement of the decisions of the ECSR in reviewing the collective complaints cases have been noted. Nevertheless, the positive interpretive roles of the ECSR in relation to the development of practice of the ESC should not be undervalued. Moreover, when the ECSR has interpreted the ESC, it has been greatly influenced by the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights, thereby developing a welcome normative consistency in Europe. While reviewing the collective complaints cases, the ECSR has tried to make sense of the ESC through a teleological interpretation of the law. With this interpretive process, the ECSR has elaborated the main values that the ESC seeks to protect. Having made it clear that autonomy, dignity, equality and solidarity have been and will continue to be the main values of the ESC, the ECSR has played a leading role in developing the interpretive practice for the protection of economic and social rights in Europe.