Justice of the Constitutional Court Daiga Rezevska speaks about the Constitutional Court’s judicature in the area of social and economic rights at an international meeting
Today, on 28 November, Justice of the Constitutional Court Daiga Rezevska participates at the 9th meeting of the CoE-FRA-ENNHRI-EQUINET Collaborative Platform on social and economic rights, in her report on the social and economic rights focusing on the way these rights have been revealed and specified in the Constitutional Court’s judicature.
At the beginning of her presentation, Justice Rezevska told about the way the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia (hereafter – the Satversme) regulated social and economic rights. She underscored that the economic and social rights guaranteed in the basic law of the state set certain limits to the legislator’s discretion in this area. Firstly, the legislator may not refuse to ensure effective exercise of social rights; secondly, social rights, although dependent on the financial possibilities of the State, must be ensured at least in the minimum scope, and, thirdly, in exercising social rights, the general principles of law that form the legal basis of the relationship between a person and the State must be abided by.
Justice Rezevska also explained the principle of human dignity and socially responsible State, revealed in the Constitutional Court’s judicature. I.e., the State’s obligation to create a sustainable and balanced policy for ensuring social welfare is derived from the principle of socially responsible State. The State should find a balance not only between its economic possibilities and a person’s rights in the social area but also the need to ensure the welfare of society in general and legal regulation aimed at sustainable national development.
Justice Rezevska concluded her presentation by providing an insight into the case heard by the Constitutional Court No. 2018-14-01 on the remuneration for overtime work for the officials with special service ranks, explaining how the Constitutional Court, by applying the Revised European Social Charter, assessed and revealed the scope of social and economic rights.
Discussing the way in which national human rights institutions promoted protection of social and economic rights, the Justice referred also to three cases that were still being prepared (No. 2019-27-03, No. 2019-25-03 and No. 2019-24-03), which the Constitutional Court had initiated on the basis applications submitted by the Ombudsman of the Republic of Latvia.
Participating organisations of CoE-FRA-ENNHRI-EQUINET Collaborative platform on social and economic rights are the Council of Europe (CoE), the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI), and the European Network of Equality Bodies (EQUINET). The meeting of Collaborative platform on social and economic rights was organise to identify challenges in Europe in the area of social and economic rights, to reinforce the protection of these rights, to harmonise the activities of national and international human rights institutions, and to coordinate actions in the area of regional policy.
Presentation by Justice Daiga Rezevska in English is available here.