International Employment Law

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2013:

Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.

The Melbourne Law Masters welcomes applications from students with disabilities. The inherent academic requirements for study in the Melbourne Law Masters are:

• The ability to attend a minimum of 75% of classes and actively engage in the analysis and critique of complex materials and debate;
• The ability to read, analyse and comprehend complex written legal materials and complex interdisciplinary materials;
• The ability to clearly and independently communicate in writing a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and to critically evaluate these;
• The ability to clearly and independently communicate orally a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and critically evaluate these;
• The ability to work independently and as a part of a group;
• The ability to present orally and in writing legal analysis to a professional standard.

Students who feel their disability will inhibit them from meeting these inherent academic requirements are encouraged to contact the Disability Liaison Unit: www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

As labour and capital markets transcend domestic borders, the objectives of labour law can no longer be confined solely to actions within the nation state. The purpose of this subject is twofold. First, to identify the diverse components of international employment and labour law, the institutions, the claims and the methods for advancing social protection to workers world-wide. This inquiry spans beyond traditional instruments that are associated with labour law, and includes trade law, private international law, international human rights and corporate social responsibility. It further seeks to embed the study of legal instruments in the broader economic and sociological debates on globalisation. The second goal is to critically assess how international developments affect domestic labour law and our perception of the ethical and economic values that underscore this body of law.

Principal topics will include:

• The importance of the concept of globalisation in understanding national systems of labour regulation
• The composition, powers and functioning of international organisations that regulate labour internationally, including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the European Union (EU)
• The relevance of different theories of international regulation
• The role of intergovernmental and corporate codes of conduct in securing international labour standards
• The social clause in world trade
• The usefulness of a comparative approach to labour law
• The success of adopting a human rights approach to labour regulation in the face of changes to domestic and international labour law frameworks.

A student who has successfully completed this subject should:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the fundamentals of international and comparative labour law
• Be able to evaluate debates about, and the role of, the key institutions in transnational labour regulation in an era of globalisation
• Demonstrate an appreciation of the usefulness of, and difficulties involved in, comparative labour law research
• Demonstrate a basic familiarity with the labour law frameworks of foreign countries and the context of those frameworks to the extent that they are examined in the subject.

Take-home examination (100%) (12–15 April)
or
10,000 word research paper (100%) (22 May) on a topic approved by the subject coordinator

Core subject materials will be provided free of charge to all students. Some subjects require further texts to be purchased. Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.