Scepticism under Scrutiny: Labour Law and Human Rights

Abstract

Abstract Labour lawyers in the United Kingdom have been understandably sceptical of the role of the judiciary in the field of labour law. This chapter asks whether it is possible to construct rights so as to further rather than undermine the aims of social democracy. It uses the insights of the sceptical approach to move through scepticism towards a possible reconstruction of human rights in a social democratic context. First, the foundations of the scepticism of the role of human rights in the labour law context are considered. Surprisingly, even the most sceptical of social democratic labour lawyers believe strongly in the value of the International Labour Organisation. The Human Rights Act 1998 has begun to construct a framework for constraining the judiciary, both in respect of codification of rights and by giving Parliament the prime responsibility for protecting human rights, both in the original process of legislation and in having the final word on the matter.

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