International Legal Standards of Human Social Rights and Their Introduction in the Constitution of Ukraine.

Abstract

When defining fundamental social rights, the international law assumes that their specific character (which was already emphasized above) requires a so-called dual legal mechanism that not only defines or declares a particular set of rights, but also establishes the procedures for implementation of the identified rights and control of such implementation. Such procedures enable the realization of the whole range of social rights of a person and a citizen in social and public spheres. The principles of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights specified in numerous international conventions, the constitution and other legal acts can serve as a basis for the international legal standards of social rights. This will make it possible to speak about existence of unified world standards, norms and principles for social rights implementation, as well as about a developed system aimed at securing these rights at the national level.

The introduction of social human rights and corresponding state obligations in the Constitution of Ukraine gives reasons to speak about a consistent movement of the Ukrainian state in the direction of building the social statehood. The obligation of the state to ensure a level of social security which is not lower than the subsistence minimum arises from the constitutional declaration by the state of its social status. However, in the absence of necessary legislative support aimed at securing social rights in every individual country, the actual fact of introduction in the constitution of the system of international legal standards of social rights does not necessarily signify their automatic implementation in the socio-political and legal life of our country. At the same time, the degree of conformity of Ukrainian legislation with the constitutional norms and objectives set for a social state will always be kept in mind. In this regard, there is currently a minimum program in Ukraine, which is reproduced in the social-democratic idea and the state strategy developed based on that idea. The program focuses on the state's tasks and responsibilities associated with its citizens, with welfare, healthcare, education, retirement benefits etc. in the first place. Speaking about the maximum program, its main idea consists in building "a socially oriented economy with the prospect of demand growth". This may be achieved via creation of effective models of social guarantees ensuring stable birth rate growth, availability of a social protection system for the most vulnerable categories of people, development of state unemployment programs etc.