The European Committee of Social Rights and the Collective Complaints : Reassessing Economic Hindrances

In contrast to research dealing with the access to justice issue and focusing on the socio-economic factors, this communication proposes to examine the sociological conditions that enable people to bring their case before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The example of the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) is a very interesting case because the procedure is said to be very simple and costless: other remedies need not be exhausted, the assistance of a lawyer is not mandatory and the application can be lodged without an excessive amount of formalities. But the number of the collective complaints remains low despite the efforts of the institution and it staff to make the ECSR a valuable alternative to the ECHR.

The aim of this communication is to point out other explanations in order to reassess the “cost of justice”. It will examine the political and sociological conditions of litigation and the organisations responsible for the complaints. The study of their legal strategy and their resources to bring collective complaints will show that access to justice is not only a question of money but also a question of political opportunities and expected political gains.