Litigating Social and Economic Rights in Canada in Light of International Human Rights Law: What Difference Can It Make?

This article examines the judicial use of international human rights law by Canadian courts with a particular focus on the potential to establish economic and social rights to promote women's equality. The article begins by discussing economic and social rights under international law and the regional law of the Inter-American human rights system. The author proceeds to identify the five distinct judicial approaches to international law. The authors argues that effective advocacy on economic and social rights requires an understanding and recognition of these five distinct interpretations of the impact of international legal obligations in Canadian domestic law. [Descriptors: Social and Economic Rights, Canada]