Housing law, anti-discrimination law, and socioeconomic inequalities

The presentation explores whether housing law and anti-discrimination law can be reflected upon jointly in order to address socioeconomic inequalities, understood as major constraints to the access to adequate housing. The first section analyses the prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of socioeconomic status as contained in selected international human rights instruments and in European Union law, in light of the guidance of the bodies tasked with their interpretation and application. The second section focuses specifically on housing, examining how the aforementioned prohibition applies in this field and which specific mechanisms ought to be put in place to effectively secure the right to housing of low-income groups

The right to housing and the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: I.D.G. v. Spain

In October 2015, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights delivered its first decision under the communication procedure foreseen in the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Optional Protocol, adopted in December 2008, creates an individual complaints mechanism against alleged violations of the economic, social and cultural rights contained in the International Covenant by the States Parties to it. This very first case, I.D.G. v Spain, concerns the right to housing in the context of the legal protection for individuals against mortgage foreclosure proceedings and forced evictions. The proposed contribution provides a legal analysis of the case, building on the right to adequate housing as interpreted by the Committee, and tests the potential of this new mechanism to shape the international human rights discourse as regards housing rights

The right to food in international law with case studies from The Netherlands and Belgium

In this chapter, the enforceability of the right to adequate food is discussed in the context of industrialized countries. The right to food as a human right can be considered the fundament of food law. Human rights in themselves occupy a special position in the field of law. On the one hand they encompass rights of a high moral value which goes beyond the boundaries of a State or the consent of a State to be bound by it. On the other hand, human right agreements are put in the form of international treaties, whose effect is greatly depending on the willingness of its member States to act in compliance with their commitments. Therefore, enforcing an international human right in a domestic court, such as the right to adequate food, is not per se a matter of course. Two issues appear to be highly influential in determining whether an international human right can be effectively invoked in a domestic court. The first is the alleged difference between civil and political rights on the one hand, and economic, social and cultural rights on the other hand. Traditionally, it is assumed that the first type of rights require govern- ment abstaining and are therefore enforceable. The latter type implies government action and are not enforceable due to a margin of discretion the national govern- ments enjoy in implementing these rights. However, there are sound arguments to oppose this traditional approach in human rights typology. These arguments are frequently pointed out in the context of the United Nation's specialized institutions as well as in literature. The second issue is the working of the domestic constitution that usually regulates the effect of international law in the domestic legal order. A case study of two industrialized countries who are favorable to human rights-the Netherlands and Belgium-was conducted. Where normally the right to food is addressed in the context of developing countries, poverty and large scale hunger, the selected countries do not suffer such constraints. Instead, the circumstances within these countries would allow an enforceable right to food to work. The case study reveals that the coincidental constitutional context of a country may be of greater influence to the enforceability of internationally recognized human rights, rather than the content of the rights in itself. In both countries the right to food can hardly be enforced through the domestic courts, in contrast to what these countries communicate in the international arena

The Catholic Church and the Racial Divide in the United States

Notre Dame Law School Dean\u27s Lecture on Race, Law, and Sciciety His Excellency, The Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D., S.T.D. Bishop of Belleville Wednesday, March 21 12:30 p.m. 1130 Eck Hall of Lawhttps://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndls_posters/1310/thumbnail.jp

The Catholic Church and the Racial Divide in the United States

Notre Dame Law School Dean\u27s Lecture on Race, Law, and Sciciety His Excellency, The Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D., S.T.D. Bishop of Belleville Wednesday, March 21 12:30 p.m. 1130 Eck Hall of Lawhttps://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndls_posters/1310/thumbnail.jp