International and European Labour Law

Course goals

After this course:

• Students have knowledge and understanding of the main issues of international and European labour law, especially of the fundamental rights of collective bargaining, strike and equal treatment.

• Students can deal with questions on direct effect of international and European labour law in national labour law.

• Students can place issues in an international and European context.

• Students are able to plead and present their findings during the moot court.

Content

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 EU 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.

First 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 Union.

Then some substantive issues of international and European labour law will be discussed; the freedom of trade union association and the right to collective bargaining, the right to equal treatment in employment, the right to collective action, working conditions, dismissal and collective redundancies.

Please note; students who followed the course RGBUIER010 International and European Labour Law are not allowed to follow this course.

Place of the course within the curriculum:
•         Optional legal course