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Caselaw Database

This is a database of positive domestic, regional and international legal decisions from around the world regarding economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights (ESCER). These case summaries provide greater awareness about ESCER issues globally, effective litigation strategies, progressive jurisprudence, and enforcement efforts. Our case summaries are available in English and Spanish, with more recent entries also available in French and Arabic. 

The caselaw database is made possible by the support of ESCR-Net members, many of whom have contributed or reviewed cases, as well as several allies. ESCR-Net expresses its special appreciation to the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy at Northeastern University (PHRGE), which provides ongoing support to the case database. To suggest additional cases for inclusion, contact Felipe Mesel, Strategic Litigation Working Group Program Coordinator, at fmesel@escr-net.org.

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10/30/2020
In 2014 and 2015, an outbreak of Ebola in Sierra Leone forced schools to close for nine months. One consequence of the closures was a significant spike in pregnancies among teenage girls (in some areas, rates went up 65%). As a result, the then-Minister of Education, Science and Technology publicly stated...
05/01/2020
This tutela case concerned the requirement that the state provide health services to a group of children living in an impoverished area of Bogotá. Four hundred and eighteen families brought this action against the Ministry of Health and the District Secretary of Health seeking free vaccines against two strains of...
03/26/2020
In 2005, Germany began the fourth stage of a program aimed at reducing the costs of the country’s social welfare system, an initiative named after its chief architect, Volkswagen personnel director, Peter Hartz. Hartz IV merged unemployment and welfare benefits, fixing the standard benefit for single people living in old...