At its November 2008 meeting, the Committee on Legal Issues and International Labour Standards of the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Governing Body recommended that the International Labour Office prepare a study on improving the interpretation and implementation of international...

This chapter discusses the provisions in the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on the protection of labour and environmental standards and human rights. It first outlines the obligations of the parties to protect labour and environmental standards, human rights and...

The paper addresses the limits of World Trade Organization (WTO) law in respect of protection of workers, human rights, animal welfare, and the environment. Instead, enterprises through their corporate social responsibilities (CSR) can fill in the legal gaps in providing protection of non-trade...

The paper examines some aspects of the relationship between trade liberalization and human rights. Whereas there are a lot of policy proposals to avoid the negative effects of trade liberalization on the human rights situation in WTO Member States, not all approaches are feasible to improve the...

The past decade has seen a transformation of the international labour rights regime based primarily on the adoption of the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and the widespread use of the concept of 'core labour standards'. Notwithstanding the enthusiasm which has...

This article assesses the normative question of whether the World Trade Organization (WTO) is the appropriate forum to enforce compliance with labour standards. It not only demonstrates why much of the concern surrounding the WTO’s engagement with the 'non-trade' issue of labour rights is...

This paper critically analyses existing WTO Dispute Settlement rules and experience to raise awareness amongst industry, government and relevant trade law practitioners of the value in developing expertise about initiating and defending non-violation nullification of benefits (“NVNB”) claims...

Accounting for and reducing greenhouse gas emissions is now a central concern for many companies. Much of the motivation is tied to simple business concerns relating to efficiency and cost-saving for the company. Employers may seek to improve employee performance by making employee bonuses...

Various groups have been demanding that discussions of labor standards be included in all future trade negotiations. The press is full of stories of alleged exploitation of child labor and other employment abuses in developing countries and human rights groups have demanded that something be...

The overwhelming majority of working children in India in the unorganized, agricultural and allied sectors work primarily due to socio-economic factors. Poverty, unemployment/under-employment and illiteracy, are the most important factors that contribute to child labour in India. Given the...