Enforcement/Implementation of ESCR

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University of Stellenbosch Legal Aid Clinic (Clinic) & Others v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services & Others; Association of Debt Recovery Agents NPC v Clinic & Others; Mavava Trading 279 (Pty) Ltd & Others v Clinic & Others [2016] ZACC 32

Constitutional Court case focused on judicial oversight of debt recovery practices in South Africa

The applicants were low-income workers who had obtained small loans from a loan company. When they later became unable to keep up with loan repayments, the company demanded that they sign further documents which resulted in default judgments and emoluments attachment orders (EAOs) being obtained by credit providers, from clerks of magistrates’ courts located far away from where the applicants reside and work, making it very difficult to oppose these orders. In some instances, their signatures that enabled the credit provider to obtain the EAOs were forged.

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FESPAD supports litigation against a Canadian mining company, and El Salvador wins

On 14 October 2016, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruled in favour of the Government of El Salvador regarding a complaint filed by the Canadian mining company Pacific Rim/...

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Minister of Basic Education v Basic Education for All (20793/2014) [2015] ZASCA 198; [2016] 1 All SA 369 (SCA)

High Court case

In 2012, seeking to standardize education nationwide, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) began the three-year rollout of a new curriculum which entailed staggered introduction of new textbooks. Despite the successful rollout in other provinces, in Limpopo the Provincial Government was unable to deliver textbooks to all learners by the start of the 2012 school year.

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Human Rights Law Sources: UN Pronouncements on Extra-Territorial Obligations

This publication provides a collection of recent pronouncements applying extra-territorial obligations (ETOs...

Developed by an ESCR-Net Member
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Lucy and the right to education: new animated video is a tool to promote ratification of the OP-ICESCR

The NGO Coalition for the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has released a new animated video to be used as a tool to promote ratification of the Optional...

Developed thanks to the collective work of ESCR-Net Members
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Equality Now and Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) v. Federal Republic of Ethiopia, Communication 341/2007

In 2001 Aberew Jemma Negussie abducted and raped 13-year-old Woineshet Zebene Negash, with the aid of several accomplices. Her abduction was reported to the police, who rescued her and arrested Mr. Negussie in Ethiopia. Evidence of the rape was documented in a medical report. Mr. Negussie was freed on bail and abducted Ms. Negash again, this time hiding her in his brother’s house for a month and forcing her to sign a marriage contract. She managed to escape. In 2003 Mr.

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The SLWG and the Geneva Academy organize joint meeting with HRC and CESCR members

In the context of the 50th anniversary of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the first rulings of the Committee on ESCR (CESCR) under the OP-ICESCR, and advances in...

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Stanev v. Bulgaria, App. No. 36760/06, European Court of Human Rights

Rusi Kosev Stanev was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1975 and declared unfit to work in 1990. In 2000, following a request from his stepmother and half-sister, a court declared him partially legally incapacitated without notifying him. Since his relatives declined guardianship, a municipal council officer was appointed his guardian. Without informing Stanev, the guardian requested that he be placed in a social care home for 'people with mental disorders'.

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Daniel Ng’etich & 2 Others v. Attorney General & 3 Others, Petition No. 329 of 2014 [2016] eKLR

In 2010, Daniel Ng’etich and Patrick Kipng’etich Kirui were arrested by the Public Health Officer, Nandi Central District Tuberculosis Defaulter Tracing Coordinator, who applied to a Magistrate for their imprisonment, alleging that they had failed to take prescribed TB medication. Pursuant to Section 27 of the Public Health Act, the Magistrate ordered that the men be confined for eight months or a satisfactory period for treatment. They remained in prison for 46 days.

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K.L. v. Peru, CCPR/C/85/D/1153/2003, Communication No. 1153/2003

In 2002, the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) accepted this communication as admissible for consideration. This case concerns the plight of K.L., a 17-year-old who was pregnant with an anencephalic foetus. Anencephalia is a condition incompatible with life for the fetus, and that jeopardizes the pregnant woman's health. Her doctor informed K.L. that her pregnancy complications exposed her to a life-threatening risk.  Upon his advice, she decided to terminate her pregnancy.

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