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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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10/04/2006
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) received a petition in favor of Dilcia Yean and Violeta Bosica against the Dominican Republic for denying them the Dominican nationality although they were born there. The petitioners claimed that, since their nationality was not acknowledged, the girls were exposed to the imminent...
09/28/2006
Case Law | Cultural Rights
The Yakye Axa community, a Paraguayan indigenous community belonging to the Lengua Enxet Sur people, filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) alleging Paraguay had failed to acknowledge its right to property over ancestral land. Given its impossibility to solve the case, the Commission referred it...
09/20/2006
The case involved a challenge by certain private professional educational facilities to the constitutionality of state laws regulating capitation fees charged by such institutions. The Supreme Court held that the right to basic education is implied by the fundamental right to life (Article 21) when read in conjunction with the...