International and European Labour Law are gaining importance due to the process of globalisation of the economy and the ongoing integration of Europe. Moreover the recognition of the fundamental social rights on the international and European scale is resulting in a growing influence of the international and European labour law on the industrial relations and social policy of the states. So, national labour law will be increasingly shaped by international labour standards and more in particular by EC employment law.
The objective of this course is to familiarize the students from the various countries with the specific issues of the international and European labour law, its instruments and the way and forms the standards as laid down in the several international legal sources, are implemented in and will affect the national legal systems.
The course contains three parts.
The first one is an introduction to the principles of international and European labour law. A dispatch will be given of the important international organisations and their power and competences to establish labour standards to be implemented in the national legislation and/or recognised in the case law of the countries: the International Labour Organisation, the Council of Europe and the European Community.
The second part will deal with some substantive issues of international and European labour law. Starting point are the fundamental social rights, as recognised in UN-Treaties, The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), The European Social Charter and the EU Charter of fundamental rights. It is about 1. The freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining and the right of workers participation in business decisions. 2. The right to equal treatment, the prohibition of discrimination in employment on grounds of sex, race, age and religion. 3. The right to collective action.
The third and last part is a moot court, based on cases of international and/or European labour law.