Network

The A.N.E.S.C. is a non profit organisation of academics and other persons who wish to contribute to its aim.

A.N.E.S.C. – ACADEMIC NETWORK ON THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL CHARTER AND SOCIAL RIGHTS

The A.N.E.S.C. is a non profit organisation of academics and other persons who wish to contribute to its aim.

The Network’s mission is to promote the European Social Charter and social rights in Europe, in relationship with the experiences of other continents.

It shall take every initiative conducive to making the European Social Charter and the other instruments for the protection of social rights known in Europe, and to improving their application and protection both at the level of the Council of Europe and in its member states.

The Network’s actions shall principally take these forms:

  • Education and training;
  • Research and publication;
  • Legal expertise;
  • Contributions to national and international judicial or contentious procedures, particularly in an amicus curiae capacity.

The Network is member of the Open Council of Europe Academic Networks (O.C.E.A.N.).

 

HISTORY

The Academic Network on the European Social Charter and Social Rights (ANESC) was established by the Secretariat of the European Social Charter and unveiled at a meeting in Strasbourg, Council of Europe, on 2 May 2006.

Initially it was not created as a legal entity but it was operational during two to three years as an informal structure made out of members from several European universities working in the field of the European Social Charter and social rights.

Prof. Jean-François Akandji-Kombé, Mark Bell, Gregor Chatton, Olivier De Schutter, Luis Jimena Quesada, Gerard Quinn were among the founders of the Network; some of them are still members today.

The Network launched several activities such as training for trade unions and non governmental organisations, a moot court competition for students, as well as research on comparative and international law and studies on the national legislation of the States parties to the Charter, on social rights prospects, on European Union social law and the issue of social rights, their justiciability, etc.

This Network fell into disuse for a few years.

In 2012 some members decided to relaunch its activities and in Italy a first national section was set up. It was then decided to re-establish the Network by giving it a legal entity and Articles of association.

On 29 November 2013 the constitutive Assembly of the Academic Network on the European Social Charter and Social Rights (ANESC) took place in Paris and the Articles of association were adopted. The Network became an association governed by Articles 21 to 79-III of the Civil Code currently in force in the “Départments” of Haut-Rhin, Bas-Rhin and Moselle (France) (see Article 1.3 of the Articles of association). The headquarters of the Network is the “Maison des Associations”, 1a place des Orphelins, in Strasbourg (France). The creation of the ANESC was published in the “Affiches Moniteur”, No. 45 of 6 June 2014 (add No. 7084).

At the meeting of the constitutive Assembly, Prof. Jean-François Akandji-Kombé was elected General Coordinator and, at the end of his mandate, Prof. Giovanni Guiglia, elected on 15 October 2016 succeeded him. Following the end of his two mandates, Prof. Giovanni Guiglia was succeeded by Prof. Cristina Sâmboan who was elected as General Coordinator on 30 December 2022.

Jean-François Akandji-Kombé and Giovanni Guiglia are Honorary General Coordinators.

The Honorary Members of the ANESC are: Prof. Tekin Akillioglu (Turkey), Nikitas Aliprantis (Greece), Jean-Michel Belorgey (France), Julia Iliopoulos-Strangas (Greece), Jean Koukiades (Greece).

 

ORGANISATION OF THE ANESC

The ANESC is a non-profit association involving primarily persons from academic institutions, but also non academic personalities wishing to contribute to the achievement of its missions.

The Network shall have a Coordination Committee and a Coordination Council.
It shall establish a national section by each member State of the Council of Europe.
Each national section is placed under the responsibility of one or more national Coordinators elected by the members of the self-same section.

1. The Coordination Committee is the Network’s executive body. It represents the Network and is represented by the General Coordinator.

It is composed of eight members:

One General Coordinator
Two Deputy General Coordinators
One Secretary
One Deputy Secretary
One Treasurer
Two linguistic Coordinators (for French and English).

2. The Coordination Council approves the guiding rules of the Network and the national sections and sets guidelines for the activities of the Network. It is made up of the members of the Coordination Committee and the national section Coordinators.

It elects the members of the Coordination Committee for a term of 3 years. The term may be renewed only once.

 

MEMBERS OF THE ANESC

The ANESC is currently composed of nearly 200 members from 18 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

These members are divided into 10 national sections (Belgium, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland/UK, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Turkey). Countries who do not have a sufficient number of members to form a section belong to the sections called “Others”. Further sections might be created in the near future.
The members are individual experts from academic institutions who work in different legal fields: social, constitutional, international law, labour law, etc. The Network also includes judges, lawyers and other professionals.

 

MISSIONS OF THE ANESC

The Network’s mission shall be the promotion of the European Social Charter and the other legal instruments for the protection of social rights in Europe, as well as the improvement of their implementation. To this end the ANESC develops activities in the fields of education, training, research, publication, expertise, etc. It contributes to judicial or contentious proceedings, particularly in an amicus curiae capacity.

 

OUR FIRST MAIN ACTIVITIES (2014-2028)

2014
Organization of a Round Table in the context of the contribution of the Network to the high-level Conference on the European Social Charter, Turin, 17-18 October 2014 (documents “Positions and proposals of the Academic Network on the European Social Charter and Social Rights”.

Participation in the above mentioned Conference

2015
Participation in the high-level Conference on the future of the protection of social rights (Brussels, 12-13 February 2015) and drafting of the  “Brussels Document”;

Exchange of views between the European Committee of Social Rights and the ANESC, Strasbourg, 16 March 2015.

Participation in the training of NGOs on the collective complaints procedure, Brussels, 22 September 2015.

International Congress organized by the Spanish Section: « Social Rights and Policies in Europe: current challenges and possible solutions for a way out of the crisis », 21-23 October 2015.

2016
Launching of the publication on the Commentary of the European Social Charter article by article.

Participation in the Forum on social rights in Europe, Turin, 18 March 2016.

Conference organized by the Portuguese Section: “Crisis and the impact of European legislation on social rights within national legal orders” which was held in Porto (Portugal), 15-16 April 2016.

Scientific Day organized by the Greek Section: « The Fundamental Social Rights in Europe and Elsewhere », Thessaloniki (Greece), 20 April 2016.

Conference organized by the French Section: “Economic crisis and social rights: a weakened standard of protection ?”, Paris 13-14 October 2016.

Participation in the Conference on the Italian contribution to the European system of social rights protection organized by the Institute for International Legal Studies (National Research Council) on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the Revised European Social Charter, Roma, 3 November 2016.

International Day: “International Treaties, Social State and Autonomous Communities”, Valencia (Spain), 18 November 2016.

Participation in the workshop: « The European Social Charter and the Europen Pillar of Social Rights », organized by the European Committee of Social Rights, Strasbourg, 8 December 2016.

2017
Participation in the Conference « Social rights in today’s Europe: the role of domestic and European courts », organized by the Supreme Court of Cyprus in cooperation with the Council of Europe, Nicosia (Cyprus), 24 February 2017.

Participation in the Conference on « the Case-law of the European Committee of Social Rights in the name of the Indivisibility of Human Rights », organized by the University of Milan, Milan (Italy), 15 May 2017.

International Day “the European Social Charter: the Fundamental Basis of Regional Social Policies in Europe”, organized by the Spanish Section, Valencia (Spain), 16 November 2017.

2018
Participation in the Seminar on the collective complaint No. 158/2017, CGIL v. Italy, Article 24 of the Social Charter, organized by the University of Ferrare (Italy), 28 June 2018.

Workshop on the Commentary of the European Social Charter organized by the Turkish Section, Istanbul, 25 October 2018

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Furthermore the ANESC participates every year in the meeting of the Drafting Group on Social Rights (CDDH-SOC) created by the Steering Committee on Human Rights of the Council of Europe.

The national sections of the ANESC carry out research, publications and organize study sessions on various topics as well as numerous training seminars particularly for judges, prosecutors, lawyers and other professionals.