SOCIAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS IN THE CONTEXT OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION: THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENTS

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of theoretical aspects of the formation of social state models. The peculiarity of European constitutionalism is determined – the constitutional concept of the social state, which is characterized by the important role of the state in the social sphere, and therefore the possibility of protecting social rights in the courts. That is, Europe, unlike the United States (welfare state), has a positive obligation to provide minimum social protection of the state. The realization of social rights is preceded by the availability of material resources in the state. The American system insists on individualism, that is, independent existence separated from state interference in life, liberty, and property. It has been established that the theoretical development of liberal institutional models is taking place in the constitutional paradigms of post-Soviet states. At the same time, this process has a great influence on the constitutional design of social rights. Therefore, the growth of faith in the constitution and/or the constitution of the consolidation of the liberal-democratic system in the transition period is a consensus phenomenon for the awareness of the constitutional order. The practice of human rights protection is increasingly moving in the direction of normative and institutional guarantees, that is, a tool for preventing democratic regression in the context of the rule of law. It has been established that the tendency to expand human rights norms that are subject to judicial review significantly contributes to the development of judicial practice in the field of social rights protection. In some cases, practice developed through appeals to civil and political rights, while in others direct economic and social rights fueled litigation. This can be partly explained by the development of international and regional human rights protection mechanisms. But the availability of legal capacity is a necessary but not a sufficient condition (and in some cases even optional). Decisions by social actors regarding the choice of litigation strategy vary considerably between jurisdictions, and a sustained and progressive litigation depends largely on the maturity of jurisprudence on civil and political rights, the strength of rule of law institutions, and even democracy itself. Judicial practice of the 21st century will increasingly focus on the protection of social rights of man and citizen.