The "International Labour Law Reports" is a series of annual publications of labour law judgements by the highest courts in a number of jurisdictions. "ILLR" is intended primarily for the use of judges, labour law practitioners, industrial relations specialists and students who need or desire ready access to authoritative information of a comparative nature on problems arising in the field of labour law and industrial relations. Each judgement reprinted in "ILLR" is accompanied by Headnotes and in practically all cases by an Annotation which sets forth, among other things, the legal issues involved, the basic facts of the case (if not included in the judgement itself), the relevant statutory provisions and judicial precendents, the labour law and industrial relations context in which the case arose and the significance of the judgement in the development of the law. The "ILLR" provide the reader with factual information that is not coloured by the personal views of the annotators. As a rule, judgements are printed "in extenso"; editorial discretion has been relied upon to delete or to summarize portions of judgements that are purely technical or only of marginal interest. "Volume 13" covers the period 1 October 1992 to 30 September 1993.
The accession by the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) has opened up new possibilities in terms of the constitutional recognition of fundamental rights in the EU. In the field of employment law it heralds a new procedure for workers and trade unions to challenge EU law against the background of the ECHR. In theoretical terms this means that EU law now goes beyond recognition of fundamental rights as mere general principles of EU law, making the ECHR the 'gold standard' for fundamental (social) rights. This publication of the Transnational Trade Union Rights Working Group focuses on the EU and the interplay between the Strasbourg case law and the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), analysing the relevance of the ECHR for the protection of workers' rights and for the effective enjoyment of civil and political rights in the employment relation. Each chapter is written by a prominent European human rights expert and analyses the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and also looks at the equivalent international labour standards within the Council of Europe (in particular the (Revised) European Social Charter), the International Labour Organization (ILO) (in particular the fundamental rights conventions) and the UN Covenants (in particular the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) and the interpretation of these instruments by competent organs. The authors also analyse the ways in which the CJEU has acknowledged the respective ECHR articles as 'general principles' of EU law and asks whether the Lisbon Treaty will also warrant a reassessment of the way it has treated conflicts between these 'general principles' and the so-called 'fundamental freedoms'.
This collection addresses the potential of the European Social Charter to promote and safeguard social rights in Europe. Drawing on the expertise of the ETUI Transnational Trade Union Rights expert network from across Europe, it provides a comprehensive commentary on these fundamental rights. Taking a two part approach, it offers an in-depth legal analysis of the European Social Charter as a new social constitution for Europe, investigating first the potential of the general legal frame in which the Charter is embedded. In the second phase a series of social rights which are related to the employment relation are examined in particular in light of the jurisprudence of the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR), to demonstrate the crucial but difficult role of the Charter's supervisory bodies to secure the respect and promotion of social rights and national level, bearing in mind the reciprocal influence of other international social rights instruments. This examination is timely, given the pressure exerted on those rights during the recent period of economic crisis. Furthermore, in the light of the predominantly economic vision of Europe, such analysis is crucial. The collection is aimed at stimulating academic scrutiny and raising awareness amongst practitioners and trade unions about this important and equally necessary anchor of the social dimension of Europe in legal and political practice.
This publication contains information on the statements and judgements made in minority rights court cases by the following international bodies: the European Court of Human Rights (Council of Europe); the African Commission on Human and People's Rights; the European Court of Justice (European Union); the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the International Court of Justice; the Permanent Court of International Justice and the United Nations Human Rights Committee. The information is organised under the following subject headings: assembly; association; discrimination; due process; education; effective participation; existence; expression; family life; group identity; international aspects; limitations, derogations and restrictions; linguistic rights; minority issues; religion; and socio-economic rights. A list of case summaries and the text of selected major international conventions in this field are included as annexes.