Labour law in Strasbourg

Thesis

From its inception, the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’) has given the Strasbourg control mechanism – now: the European Court of Human Rights (‘the Court’) and the Committee of Ministers (‘the Committee’) – a labour law mandate. Yet, the Strasbourg control mechanism has met with wide-ranging scepticism from labour lawyers. Two prominent categories of critiques have arisen, arguing that Strasbourg’s recent engagement with labour law is characterised by undue self-restraint (1) in response to political pressure; and/or (2) in respect of collective labour rights in particular. A premise underlying both categories is that Strasbourg’s labour rights output is inconsistent.

The comprehensive and serious nature of these concerns demands comprehensive and serious investigation. This thesis responds to that challenge through a systematic and doctrinal review of the output of the modern Strasbourg control mechanism as regards labour rights applications invoking Articles 4 and 11, ECHR, spanning from their receipt by the Registry to supervision of execution by the Committee.

This comprehensive review looks afresh at matters previously overlooked or overprioritised in labour lawyers’ engagement with Strasbourg. Crucially, assessment of this broader dataset reveals far greater consistency in the Strasbourg control mechanism’s output than the critiques from labour lawyers suggest. There is an identifiable difference between the Strasbourg control mechanism’s approach to cases involving the State ‘as employer’ and those in which it acts ‘as regulator’. This trend tracks across applications invoking Articles 4 and 11. While the ‘employer’/‘regulator’ distinction is most salient for merits determinations, its effect permeates other determinations.

This thesis thus casts new light on the Strasbourg control mechanism’s labour rights output. In doing so, it challenges a key premise underlying labour lawyers’ engagement with Strasbourg to date. Labour lawyers’ response to its findings will therefore shape and direct the vital conversation about Strasbourg’s role in labour law.

Authors: Williams, A

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-7r067rgqb
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Article 4; European Convention on Human Rights; Article 11; labour rights; labour law
• Subjects: Labor laws and legislation, International; Human rights; Forced labor; Freedom of association