5.
Among the measures which might be considered appropriate, in addition to
legislation, is the provision of judicial remedies with respect to rights which may, in
accordance with the national legal system, be considered justiciable. The Committee notes,
for example, that the enjoyment of the rights recognized, without discrimination, will often be
appropriately promoted, in part, through the provision of judicial or other effective remedies.
Indeed, those States parties which are also parties to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights are already obligated (by virtue of articles 2 (paras. 1 and 3), 3 and 26) of that
Covenant to ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms (including the right to equality
and non-discrimination) recognized in that Covenant are violated, “shall have an effective
remedy” (art. 2 (3) (a)). In addition, there are a number of other provisions in the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including articles 3, 7 (a)
(i), 8, 10 (3), 13 (2) (a), (3) and (4) and 15 (3) which would seem to be capable of immediate
application by judicial and other organs in many national legal systems. Any suggestion that
the provisions indicated are inherently non-self-executing would seem to be difficult to
sustain.
6.
Where specific policies aimed directly at the realization of the rights recognized in the
Covenant have been adopted in legislative form, the Committee would wish to be informed,
inter alia, as to whether such laws create any right of action on behalf of individuals or groups
who feel that their rights are not being fully realized. In cases where constitutional
recognition has been accorded to specific economic, social and cultural rights, or where the
provisions of the Covenant have been incorporated directly into national law, the Committee
would wish to receive information as to the extent to which these rights are considered to be
justiciable (i.e. able to be invoked before the courts). The Committee would also wish to
receive specific information as to any instances in which existing constitutional provisions
relating to economic, social and cultural rights have been weakened or significantly changed.
7.
Other measures which may also be considered “appropriate” for the purposes of
article 2 (1) include, but are not limited to, administrative, financial, educational and social
measures.
8.
The Committee notes that the undertaking “to take steps ... by all appropriate means
including particularly the adoption of legislative measures” neither requires nor precludes any
particular form of government or economic system being used as the vehicle for the steps in
question, provided only that it is democratic and that all human rights are thereby respected.
Thus, in terms of political and economic systems the Covenant is neutral and its principles
cannot accurately be described as being predicated exclusively upon the need for, or the
desirability of a socialist or a capitalist system, or a mixed, centrally planned, or laissez-faire
economy, or upon any other particular approach. In this regard, the Committee reaffirms that
the rights recognized in the Covenant are susceptible of realization within the context of a
wide variety of economic and political systems, provided only that the interdependence and
indivisibility of the two sets of human rights, as affirmed inter alia in the preamble to the
Covenant, is recognized and reflected in the system in question. The Committee also notes
the relevance in this regard of other human rights and in particular the right to development.
9.
The principal obligation of result reflected in article 2 (1) is to take steps “with a view
to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized” in the Covenant. The
term “progressive realization” is often used to describe the intent of this phrase. The concept
of progressive realization constitutes a recognition of the fact that full realization of all
economic, social and cultural rights will generally not be able to be achieved in a short period
of time. In this sense the obligation differs significantly from that contained in article 2 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which embodies an immediate obligation
to respect and ensure all of the relevant rights. Nevertheless, the fact that realization over