The Right to Health in International Law: from an Amorphous Archetype to a Synthetic Conception

Abstract

The right to health is currently considered to be a fundamental human right, a factor in the sustainable development of individuals and society. Despite its importance, the right to health, as well as other rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, has received relatively limited attention to date. This has led to a lack of conceptual clarity regarding the recognition of the right to health as a human right.

The article examines the right to health under the relevant provisions of international universal and regional human rights instruments, and establishes the scope and content of the right to health. The historical analysis of the development of international legal regulation of the right to health is carried out. The author analyzes the concepts, definitions and principles enshrined in international documents, the practice of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the European Court of Human Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, their influence on the development of the international legal regime regulating the right to health. It is concluded that, until the end of the twentieth century, the right to health remained a vaguely defined concept, but that in recent years considerable work has been done to identify its broad aspects. The right to health has now become a key human right, inherent in everyone simply by virtue of their human dignity. It is enshrined in various universal and regional international treaties and its realization is the basis for the protection and realization of other human rights.