This authoritative commentary drafted by scholars of the Academic Network on the European Social Charter and Social Rights (ANESC) is aimed at academic researchers studying social and economic rights in Europe and legal practitioners, civil society organisations, trade unions and state representatives engaging with the procedures of the European Committee of Social Rights. The text is composed of contributions from a large number of experts, bringing together senior and young scholars across different countries and legal traditions with expertise in social and economic rights and a commitment to enhancing the European system for regulating these rights.

The commentary offers 106 chapters, organised into eight volumes, some of which are focused on the substantive obligations of State Parties to the European Social Charter and the practice of the European Committee of Social Rights and others on the procedures that state representatives, international bodies and applicants must follow to engage with the Charter system.

Volume 1, entitled Cross-Cutting Themes, provides readers with descriptive and analytical accounts of the birth and evolution of the Charter system, the rules governing its interactions with domestic authorities, a number of thematic areas and concepts that elucidate the spirit of the treaty, and the differences and synergies between the European Social Charter and other European and international regulatory frameworks. This volume lays the groundwork for the article-by-article commentary on the European Social Charter that will be presented in the subsequent seven volumes, providing crucial context and highlighting the conceptual and operational links between the various Charter provisions. This first volume is edited by Stefano Angeleri (Queen’s University Belfast) and Carole Nivard (Université de Rouen).