Social Rights in the Rulings of the European Court of Human Rights from an International Perspective

Abstract

In the judgment in Humpert et al. v. Germany, the European Court of Human Rights assessed the admissibility of the German ban on strikes for teachers who are members of the civil service. In the judgment commented on here, the Court found that there was no violation of Art. 11 of the ECHR. This position is inconsistent with the recommendations adopted towards the state by other international bodies, particularly the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. However, the ECtHR’s judgment reflects the application of the principle of subsidiarity and the principle of offering a wide margin of appreciation in procedural terms. The Court also failed to take a clear position on the possibility of classifying teachers as “members of the administration of the State”.