The human rights approach to social assistance: Normative principles and system characteristics
| DOI | 10.1177/1388262720971297 |
| Date | 01 December 2020 |
| Author | Edward Bambrough,Gijsbert Vonk |
| Published date | 01 December 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
The human rights approach to
social assistance: Normative
principles and system
characteristics
Gijsbert Vonk
University of Groningen Faculty of Law, Groningen, Netherlands
Edward Bambrough
University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Abstract
This article deals with the substantive meaning of the human right of social assistance. The central
question is how normative human rights principles can be reconciled with system characteristics
which are part of the practical reality of social assistance law and administration. In order to answer
this question, we present illustrations of how the human right of social assistance has been
operationalised, with a particular emphasis on the judgments and opinions of courts and quasi-
judicial institutions. What emerges is that the meaning of the human right of social assistance is not
fixed or to be found in some natural law abstraction. It is organically created in the process of
confronting human rights principles with the system characteristics of social assistance. Drivers of
this process are, inter alia, the principles of a universal material minimum subsistence level, a
dignified life for social assistance recipients, and a rights-based approach.
Keywords
Social assistance, human rights, social and economic rights, minimum income protection, Social
Europe, poverty
1. Introduction
This article deals with the human right of social assistance. A previous publication by Vonk and
Olivier gave a broad overview of the fundamental right of social assistance and examined the legal
consequences of the right when it is relied on in national courts. It was observed that from a legal
Corresponding author:
Edward Bambrough, University of Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, Netherlands.
E-mail: e.j.bambrough@rug.nl
European Journal of Social Security
2020, Vol. 22(4) 376–389
ªThe Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/1388262720971297
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