Social Labelling Legislation – At the Global Crossroads of Trade and Labour
Content
Government-sponsored social labels constitute an interesting attempt to break the deadlock grown within the international organizations involved – mainly WTO and ILO – in order to effectively deal with minimum social standards through trade-related meas-ures. The question as to which kind of labels would pass muster for the WTO (quasi-)judicial bodies is an intriguing one, as well as the one as to whether a nationally based social label can make the difference in the context of globalized trade and internationally agreed upon labour standards.
Can a country be accused of unilateralism when implementing international labour norms through its trading schemes? How restrictive can such a trade measure be without ‘denaturating’ labour standards? Can and should countries discriminate between goods premised upon invisible characteristics involved in the production process?
While using the example of the recently issued Belgian Law on Socially Responsible Production and its voluntary social labelling scheme, the author unravels the trade-labour nexus, chases away some jurisprudential fog that surrounds it, highlights the importance of problems of international forum choice in addressing it and, finally, suggests a way forward through a variety of inter-institutional arrangements and reforms.
Can a country be accused of unilateralism when implementing international labour norms through its trading schemes? How restrictive can such a trade measure be without ‘denaturating’ labour standards? Can and should countries discriminate between goods premised upon invisible characteristics involved in the production process?
While using the example of the recently issued Belgian Law on Socially Responsible Production and its voluntary social labelling scheme, the author unravels the trade-labour nexus, chases away some jurisprudential fog that surrounds it, highlights the importance of problems of international forum choice in addressing it and, finally, suggests a way forward through a variety of inter-institutional arrangements and reforms.
References
Série Or, volume 4.
ISBN 2-940341-07-0.
Price if ordered directly from the publisher / Prix, si commandé directement chez l'éditeur:
CHF 59.- / EUR 39.- / USD 49.- (+ post expenses)
ISBN 2-940341-07-0.
Price if ordered directly from the publisher / Prix, si commandé directement chez l'éditeur:
CHF 59.- / EUR 39.- / USD 49.- (+ post expenses)