International labour rights: legitimising the international legal order?

Dukes, R. (2017) International labour rights: legitimising the international legal order? University of Toronto Law Journal, 67(4), pp. 544-568. (doi: 10.3138/utlj.67.4)

Abstract

This article considers the role of international labour rights in an era of globalization. It begins from Patrick Macklem’s definition of that role in terms of providing the international legal order with a measure of normative legitimacy. It then interrogates the relationship between sovereignty and international labour rights in an era of globalization, highlighting the particular significance, in this context, of the voluntary surrender by nation states of elements of their sovereignty. It questions whether Macklem has given due consideration to this phenomenon and to its consequences for the rights and interests of workers and whether, therefore, he has succeeded in providing an account of international labour rights that is at once descriptive and normative, as he intends it to be. Having drawn attention to the limitations of international labour rights, the article concludes by commenting briefly on the desirability of a body of transnational labour law, of which international labour law would form only one part.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Dukes, Professor Ruth
• Authors: Dukes, R.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Law
• Journal Name: University of Toronto Law Journal
• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• ISSN: 0042-0220
• ISSN (Online): 1710-1174
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2017 University of Toronto Press
• First Published: First published in University of Toronto Law Journal 67(4):544-568
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher