Social protection actualities as judged by the courts: materialisations of the "spirit of the times" through "social-legal principles"

Abstract

The matter of social security is subject to continuous processes of legislative reforms that offer an image of this legal branch that is highly changing, and somewhat irrational or incoherent. However, in its configuration and practical application, jurisdictional decisions, the "living law" of Social Security, are very important. In this preliminary presentation, an account of a set of very recent sentences in the field of social security is given that help to understand both the evolutionary dynamism of this legal branch and the operation of the general principles of law in it. Among them we highlight the principles of equality, not only in gender perspective, which also; legal security; primacy of reality over form (priority of the social purpose over the restrictive letter of social benefits), etc.