The Open Access publication of this book has been made possible by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Is the current structure of international law still adequate to solve global problems such as child labour? This book argues for more coherence between human rights and trade law, analysing the world trade law compatibility of topical trade measures on (forced) child labour such as the US Tariff Act of 1930 or the proposal for an EU Forced Labour Regulation, mainly under the GATT non-discrimination principles and the policy exceptions clause. Discussing theories such as constitutionalism and pluralism, Franziska Humbert develops the idea of a New Legal Humanism as a cognitive frame for the global legal order.
The book offers a comprehensive perspective on the highly topical issue of protecting and promoting labour standards in international economic law and the globalized economy. For the purpose of an in-depth analysis of both the specific and the fundamental aspects in this regard, it combines views from specialized academics of the legal and political sciences as well as experienced practitioners. The contributions to this book do not only reveal recurring obstacles but also point at best practices and potential for synergies, providing important guidance for future research and practice in international economic and labour law and policy.
This book provides a set of proposals for how best to guarantee effective enforcement of labour rights worldwide. The linkage between labour standards and global trade has been recurrent for some 200 years. At a time when the world is struggling to find a way out of crisis and is striving for economic growth, more than ever there is a need for up-to-date research on how to protect and promote labour rights in the global economy. This book explores the history of the field and also provides an overview of emerging trends and opportunities. It discusses the most recent problems including: the effectiveness and the role of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in the second century of its existence, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its potential relevance in the protection of labour rights, the effectiveness of the US and the EU Generalised System of Preferences, the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) instruments on labour rights, and labour provisions in the international trade agreements concluded by the US and the EU. The book argues, inter alia, that trade agreements seem to be a useful tool to help pave the way out of the crisis and that the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) can be perceived as a model agreement and a symbol of a shift in perspective from long global supply chains to a focus on regional ones, local production, jobs and a rise in wages. The book will be essential reading for academics and students in the fields of human rights law, international labour law, industrial relations law, international sustainable development law, international economic law and international trade law. It will also be of interest to practitioners, non-government organisations (NGOs) and policy makers.
International economic law guides and shapes globalization and the future of the world economy, our human societies, and the Earth. The rules which facilitate trade and investment could defend the interests of Hermes, Greek god of commerce and thieves, or learn to draw inspiration from Athena, goddess of justice, wisdom, and crafts. This volume explores how trade and investment agreements could promote more sustainable development, rather than increasing the negative social and environmental impacts of economic growth. States and other actors are attempting to integrate social and environmental considerations into trade and investment policies, towards more sustainable development. Analysing their efforts, this volume offers insights into the ways that commitments to sustainability are being operationalized in the texts of economic treaties themselves. Written by a renowned expert jurist and professor of law, this book examines the measures being debated in the WTO and adopted by States in a selection of innovative and flexible regional and bilateral trade and investment accords. With legal examples spanning decades of experimentation and experience, the book illuminates how States and stakeholders are seeking innovative ways to integrate environmental and social considerations into trade and investment agreements. Introducing a ground-breaking systematic approach, the volume considers how, through this integration, international trade and investment law can contribute to the achievement of the world's Sustainable Development Goals.
Der englischsprachige Sammelband beleuchtet die Auswirkungen internationaler Menschenrechte auf den nationalen und europäische Rechtsordnung aus mehreren Perspektiven. Neben den Auswirkungen des Gutachtens 2/13 des EuGH auf das Verhältnis der EU zur EMRK werden auch die Auswirkungen der Menschenrechtskonvention auf die Rechtsordnungen von Nachbarstaaten wie Norwegen und der Türkei analysiert. Ebenfalls wird eine Bestandsaufnahme der menschenrechtlichen Vorschriften des Assoziierungsabkommens der Europäischen Union mit der Ukraine und deren Auswirkungen auf die interne ukrainische Rechtsordnung vorgenommen. Daneben gestellt werden rechtsvergleichend Analysen der Rechtssysteme größerer und kleinerer Mitgliedstaaten der EU wie Deutschland, Polen, Portugal und Slowenien. Mit Beiträgen von Ass.-Prof. Pinar Bacaksiz, Dokuz Eylül Universität Izmir; Ass.-Prof. Vibeke Blaker Strand und Prof. Kjetil Mujezinovic Larsen, Norwegisches Menschenrechtsinstitut Oslo; Ass.-Prof. Rui Guerra de Fonseca, Universität Lissabon; Prof. Roman Petrov, Universität Kiew-Mohyla; Ass.-Prof. Dr. Vasilka Sancin und Prof. Mirjam Skrk, Universität Ljubljana; AkadR Dr. Stefan Lorenzmeier, LL.M. (Lugd.), Universität Augsburg; Dr. Daniel Engel, LL.M. (GWU), Universität Augsburg; Dasa Bajec Korent, Universität Ljubljana; Akad. Rätin Jennifer Hölzlwimmer, Universität Augsburg; Tina Korosec, LL.M. (Groningen), Universität Ljubljana; Masa Kovic Dine, LL.M. (Toronto), Universität Ljubljana; Dorota Miler, LL.M. (McGill), Universität Augsburg; Isabella Risini, LL.M. (Chicago-Kent), Ruhr-Universität Bochum; Désirée Rühle, Universität Augsburg; Marina Zagar, Universität Rijeka/Ljubljana
In a world of work that has changed dramatically over the last few years, states see themselves confronted with new actors and conflicting international legal obligations. This book examines the tensions between core labour rights as defined by the International Labour Organisation, and the interests of international economic institutions (e.g. WTO, IMF, World Bank, OECD). It provides an analysis of the legal interactions between international regulations and state policy with regard to potential regulatory conflicts, at both the horizontal and vertical level. The study suggests a model of multilevel consistency as a way of reconciling the highly specialised and fragmented legal systems of core labour rights on the one hand, and trade liberalisation on the other, to form the coherent framework of a consistent legal order. Its detailed analysis and recommendations are designed for both academic readers and practitioners in international organisations and governments.
This volume examines the legal dimension of the ILO's action in the field of Child Labour. The authors investigate the implementation of the relevant legal instruments and assess the effectiveness of the ILO supervisory system. All relevant instruments are considered while particular attention is given to Convention 182 on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour. Child Labour in a Globalized World describes the ILO's activities concerning the eradication of child labour whilst assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of the relevant legal framework and functioning of the supervisory system. This book contextualizes the issue of the eradication of the worst forms of child labour in the recent doctrinal debate on the nature of labour standards and the transformation of the ILO. This important work will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers and policy-makers with an interest in labour law, international law, and children's rights.
This is a book about the ever more complex legal networks of transnational economic governance structures and their legitimacy problems. It takes up the challenge of the editors' earlier pioneering works which have called for more cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary analyses by scholars of international law, European and international economic law, private international law, international relations theory and social philosophy to examine the interdependences of multilevel governance in transnational economic, social, environmental and legal relations. Two complementary strands of theorising are expounded. One argues that globalisation and the universal recognition of human rights are transforming the intergovernmental "society of states" into a cosmopolitan community of citizens which requires more effective constitutional safeguards for protecting human rights and consumer welfare in the national and international governance and legal regulation of international trade. The second emphasises the dependence of the functioning of international markets and liberal trade on governance arrangements which respond credibly to safety and environmental concerns of consumers, traders, political and non-governmental actors. Enquiries into the generation of international standards and empirical analyses of legalization and judizialisation practices form part of this agenda. The perspectives and conclusions of the more than 20 contributors from Europe and North-America cannot be uniform. But they converge in their search for a constitutional architecture which limits, empowers and legitimises multilevel trade governance, as well as in their common premise that respect for human rights, private and democratic self-government and social justice require more transparent, participatory and deliberative forms of transnational "cosmopolitan democracy".
