The Right to Adequate Housing in International Human Rights Law: Polish Transformation Experiences (1989-2009)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present the right to adequate housing and its implementation in Poland during the transitional period. The battle for the shape of social and economic rights that took place in the last 50 years has led to a wide catalogue of housing rights and principles of their implementation within the UN system. Although provisions of several international conventions legally bind countries housing rights remain a specific construct depending heavily on regional differences. Distinctness of economic development and political situation cause the right to adequate living conditions to seem hard to define as a coherent legal concept. The term “adequate housing conditions” can be interpreted in many ways, taking into account place where we live, our individual needs and aspirations etc.

Keywords: right to adequate housing, housing rights, international human rights law, public international law