Children's Socio-Economic Rights, Democracy and the Courts

Despite the significant growth of academic interest in both children's rights and socio-economic rights over the last two decades, children's socio-economic rights are a comparatively neglected area. This is particularly true with regard to the role of the courts in the enforcement of such rights. Author Aoife Nolan's book remedies this omission, focusing on the circumstances in which the courts can and should give effect to the socio-economic rights of children. The arguments put forward are located within the context of long-standing debates in constitutional law, democratic theory, and human rights. The claims made by the author are supported and illustrated by concrete examples of judicial enforcement of children's socio-economic rights from a variety of jurisdictions. The work is thus rooted in both theory and practice, and represents a major original contribution to the existing scholarship in a range of areas including human rights, legal and political theory, and constitutional law. Nolan brings together and addresses a wide range of issues that have never been previously considered in book form. These include: children as citizens and their position in relation to democratic decision-making processes * the implications of children and their rights for democratic and constitutional theory * the role of the courts in ensuring the enforcement of children's rights * the debates surrounding the litigation and adjudication of socio-economic rights. (Series: Human Rights Law in Perspective)

Aoife Nolan is Professor of International Human Rights Law at the School of Law, Nottingham University and was previously a Senior Lecturer at Durham Law School.