The concept of ‘social cohesion’ penetrated the political and legal sphere of the European continent in the last decade of the last century. In 2004, the Council of Europe elaborated an articulated and widely adopted definition. Yet, neither the Statute of the Council of Europe nor the agreements concluded in pursuit of its purpose contain such a term. The paper investigates whether the concept of ‘social cohesion’ has legal relevance within the Council of Europe. It thus covers the elaboration of the concept and the strategies relating to it by the statutory organs, as well as the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the practice of the European Committee of Social Rights, concerning the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter, respectively. Ultimately, I argue that, given its fundamental components, the concept of ‘social cohesion’ is linked to the Organisation’s purpose. It could thus share the same normative function of the ideals and principles recognized therein, in the activities of the statutory and treaty bodies. However, lacking autonomous legal recognition, it may serve to provide support and normative content for these principles within the Council of Europe.
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