Models of Incorporation and Justiciability for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Abstract

First paragraph: The incorporation of international law into domestic law means embedding legal standards as set out in international law and making them enforceable at the domestic level. This incorporation can take many different forms. This paper seeks to set out some of the ways through which Scotland could incorporate economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights into the domestic legal framework. Traditionally incorporation has been understood as a way of directly embedding international law into the domestic legal system through domestic legislation or in a constitutional text. This paper embraces a much broader and fuller understanding of incorporation essentially encapsulating a variety of means through which international legal standards are internalised into the domestic legal system and coupled with effective remedies. The paper therefore looks at models of incorporation as well as justiciability mechanisms (how rights can be enforced in court).