Examining the relationship between trade and labour regulation in light of the pressing need to promote sustainable development, Tonia Novitz interrogates how international legal architecture could be reformed so that no one in the world of work gets left behind. She highlights the dangers of pursuing labour and environmental issues on parallel tracks without recognising how they interact, ultimately arguing for the crafting of the content and application of trade rules through participatory processes, which involve the inclusive representation of all sectors of the labour market and all parts of the world.

Labour Law and Sustainable Development is a detailed reconstruction of the regulatory framework and jurisprudential findings of sustainable development at the international, European and national level. The global crisis of the past decade has underlined the social unsustainability of the ultra-liberalistic theories through which the labour law deregulation represents the precondition for social and economic development coherent with the globalization imperatives. It is no exaggeration to assert that the existing foundations of labour law have been irreversibly compromised. It is essential to find a way out of the crisis, at the same time defining the founding values of new sustainable labour law. In linking labour law with the sustainability paradigm, this provocative book promises to widen the scope and terms of the reconciliation of interests, taking into account the multiplicity of the stakeholders interested in economic, social and environmental issues and, in particular, to practise an approach that achieves intergenerational equity. What’s in this book: In an unprecedented comparative study, including case law, of the network of principles, agreements, practices and norms concerning sustainable development and its different economic and social implications, the author examines such facets as the following: sustaining solidarity and equality of opportunity in current and emerging work situations; enhancing individual autonomy in the current world of (subordinate but independent) labour; reconciling personal needs, flexible organization of companies and reduction of external and internal costs to companies; collective action for the regulation of labour relations allowing for the exercise of individual autonomy; involving entire populations that have been so far excluded in the world scene; developing a sustainable pension system to promote intergenerational solidarity; implementing flexicurity policies positively; social clauses of international trade treaties; undoing the profound contradiction of gender and wage inequalities; and promoting corporate social responsibility. The objective of this book is to provide the reader with a reasoning basis to assess whether the choice to elect sustainable development as a new paradigm of reference for labour law is feasible, and if, in particular, this choice can be useful in order to define the founding values of a new ‘sustainable’ labour law. How this will help you: Using an interdisciplinary approach, the author emphasizes the need to consider the various dimensions of sustainability together, not only the original environmental but also the economic and social dimensions. This book offers a real strategic leap for both legislators and social actors, in particular leading the way to avoiding a fracture of the generational pact that has held together modern societies. Although the book presents a profound academic contribution to the analysis of labour law realities and trends, it will also be welcomed by corporate lawyers, judges, human rights experts, trade unionists, business managers, entrepreneurs and consultants interested in the issues of labour, sustainable development and social rights.

"In the Bretton Woods era, trade liberalization, the improvement of labour rights and working conditions, and the strengthening of environmental policies, were seen as mutually supportive. But is this always true? Can we continue to pretend to protect the rights of workers and to improve environmental protection, particularly through climate change mitigation strategies, within an agenda focused on trade liberalization? Is it credible to pursue trade policies that aim to expand the volumes of trade, without linking such policies to labour and environmental standards, seen as 'non-trade' concerns? This book asks these questions, offering a detailed analysis of whether linkage is desirable and legally acceptable under the disciplines of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It concludes that trade can work for sustainable development, but only if we see it as a means for social and environmental progress, including climate change mitigation, and if we avoid fetichizing it as an end to be pursued for its own sake."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

In Johannesburg at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, over one hundred and eighty states assumed a collective responsibility to advance and strengthen the interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development economic development, social development, an environmental protection at the local, national, regional and global levels. This remarkable collection of papers, sponsored by the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL), demonstrates that sustainable development serves as a unifying concept with the potential to facilitate much-needed respect for international law and timely implementation of diverse and overlapping international commitments. It builds on the substance of a rich and complex debate at the intersections among economic, social, and environmental law, bringing together a broad cross-section of viewpoints and voices. The authors review recent developments in WTO discussions and negotiations, and in the recent decisions of the WTO Appellate Body, from a sustainable development law perspective. They also survey relevant new developments in trade and economic agreements at regional, inter-regional and bi-lateral levels. The various essays focus on sustainable development aspects of key issues in recent trade negotiations such as the Singapore Issues (investment, competition, trade facilitation, and government procurement), intellectual property rights, investment arbitration and the linkage between the WTO and multilateral environmental accords, (MEAand¿s).. Among the specific topics covered are the following: Emerging areas of law and policy in trade and sustainable development, The underlying development agendas in global trade law negotiations, Cooperation and potential negotiation on international competition law, Sustainable development aspects of intellectual property rights negotiations, Overlaps between multilateral environmental accords (MEAand¿s) and the WTO, Recent developments in WTO dispute settlement procedures and proceedings, Human rights and environmental opportunities from trade liberalisation and increased market acces, Human rights and environment impact assessment techniques used to analyse trade agreements, Recent developments in bi-lateral and regional trade agreements. Trade, investment, and competition law practitioners and negotiators in developed and developing countries will find this book of great value, as will development and environment law professionals with responsibility for trade and WTO law related matters. With rich contributions from leading trade law practitioners, academics, and WTO panel and appellate body roster members, Sustainable Developments in World Trade Law offers a constructive, timely and accessible expert analysis of recent discussions and advances in the field, providing an integrated and essential guide to some of the most important issues in international economic law today.

"Some contemporary challenges for global trade regulation and labour governance arise from the barriers between questions of law and social justice, and development policy and distributional issues. This thesis attempts to address some of these regulatory or governance challenges by exploring the interactions between sustainable development (SD), trade regulation, and social or distributive justice. Borrowing from multiple disciplines, i.e. law, international relations, and development economy, and focusing on the problems of low-income countries, this thesis examines the potential and importance of a broad ideational objective in introducing transformative changes in different regulatory or governance mechanisms. This thesis does not discuss ways to link trade regulation or labour governance with SD; rather here the possibilities of operationalizing SD, within the global trade regulatory site or transnational governance mechanisms, are explored from a capability perspective. It is argued that a capability-based understanding can resituate some questions on trade-SD interaction and introduce important behavioural changes in the functioning of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Yet, ongoing operationalization of capability-based SD requires effective market complementary interventions from governance mechanisms operating at different spaces and with diverse actors. Certain emerging transnational governance mechanisms, which connect broader social or distributional issues such as labour governance with trade opening or economic cooperation, attempt to provide crucial market complementary interventions. Taking examples from the recent transnational safety initiatives for Bangladeshi garment workers and relying on a broad conceptualization of the social or distributional issues, it is argued that attention to capability enhancement produces a much more compelling form of labour governance mechanism at these hybrid sites. With a focus on capability-based SD, a model of transformative linkage is proposed for effective labour governance. The model demands that fundamental and redistributive rights of labour are interconnected and appropriate labour governance requires a stronger form of corporate responsibility. Analyzing the interaction of diverse rules, governance processes and mechanisms, with the demands of marginalized forces the global hegemony of capital is juxtaposed with available options and possible alternatives. " --

Three major fields of international law – trade, the environment, and human rights – have become inextricably intertwined in today’s world. A practitioner, policymaker, businessperson, or academic involved in any one of these fields must now be conversant with the other two. This groundbreaking book considers the crucial elements of this complex engagement, with eleven authoritative discussions by some of the most important and widely renowned professors of labor, commercial, and international law and experts from the International Labour Organization and the International Society for Labour and Social Security Law. Focusing primarily on the “social pillar” of sustainability, the authors cover such critical issues as the following: – the “creeping de-globalization” manifested by Brexit and US protectionist policies; – new and renegotiated multilateral “mega” treaties; – prospects for effectively codifying social responsibilities of multinational corporations; – nexus of economic comparative advantage and excessive exploitation of natural resources; – weak (or non-existent) enforcement of labor clauses in trade agreements; – assessing and managing environmental and social risk in project finance; and – stabilization clauses in state–investor agreements. An analysis of MERCOSUR serves as a revealing insight into the differences between trade agreements concluded among developing countries and those concluded among developed countries. A much-needed probing of the future of global trade in the light of a resurgence of economic nationalisms, this book takes a giant step towards a new consensus and cohesion phase in the international community where development policies, international business transactions, and social and environmental sustainability coexist harmoniously. It will be welcomed by practitioners, academics, and researchers in trade law, environmental law, and labor law, as well as by policymakers and businesspersons concerned with how these legal fields interact with economic justice.

This publication presents examples of the application of technical expertise, of workplace participation, and of tools that promote workers' health and safety to problems that extend beyond the workplace into areas such as environmental protection, public health and the accountability of employers. It focuses on crucial issues ranging from climate change and energy, chemicals management, and corporate social responsibility and accountability to future involvement of workers and trade unions with the environment and with efforts to move towards sustainability. Publishing Agency: United Nations Environment Programme.