This edition of the Quarterly (Vol. 5 No. 2) contains an article on a groundbreaking decision from the European Committee of Social Rights under the Revised European Social Charter in the case of FEANTSA v France regarding ensuring the effective exercise of the right to housing contained in Article 31 of the Revised Charter. A second article focuses on the text of an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Optional Protocol includes a number of relevant provisions concerning protection mechanisms, including an individual complaint mechanism, an inter-State mechanism and an inquiry procedure.
In addition, the Quarterly contains a case note concerning a Dutch Court decision on the right to water, whereby the Court disallowed the disconnection of water supply because such a measure would frustrate the defendant’s right to water. Furthermore, in contains two interesting cases to watch. First, there is a case before the South African Constitutional Court regarding the displacement of residents of the Joe Slovo informal settlement as a result an infrastructure project near Cape Town. Second, COHRE has filed a collective complaint under the European Social Charter mechanism alleging the systematic failure by Croatia to remedy housing rights abuses of ethnic Serbs displaced in Croatia.
To read the quarterly, click here or access it on COHRE’s website.
