Summary

Zusammenfassung

Since the end of World War II, the protection of individuals through subjective rights has become a central concern of public international law. Numerous human rights instruments of regional and universal vocation bear witness to this development. Traditionally, a distinction is made between two categories of rights: civil and political rights on the one hand and economic, social and cultural rights on the other. While both categories of rights are recognised in principle, considerable differences exist with respect to their domestic implementation. These differences result from the widespread belief that econonomic and social rights lack justiciability and therefore cannot be enforced by the judiciary.