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Labor law was traditionally a domestic project, defined on the basis of a geographic territory or a synthetic community; its norms were determined by the state and applied to employers and workers who resided within the state. Commonly, labor law is administered on a territorial basis, applies to incoming workers, and stops at the borders in respect of other states' sovereignty when capital migrates. Globalization affects the background in which labor law operates, including the increased interdependence of markets, the constitution of communities that transcend national borders, and the development of institutions outside and within the nation-state, which displace the locus of regulation from the traditional state level. De-territoriality claims that territory and sovereignty should be understated within the dominion of labor law in order to correct a deep structural imbalance in labor markets. This imbalance was not created by globalization, and as long as it appeared in a consistent yet bounded manner in each and every state, labor law's project was rendered possible by territorial arrangements. With the process of globalization, the territorial solutions previously created within labor law are no longer adequate. When territoriality is adhered to, migrating workers receive partial protection, while migrating capital can easily choose its most convenient forum as a means, inter alia, of undermining labor law's protection to workers. De-territorialization seeks to restore the original intent of labor law's project, which is to level off the distinct strategies that are available to labor and capital in a globalized labor market.

Abstract:This article outlines various explanations for singling out the right to work from the roster of human rights, and emphasizes the dilemmas associated with regulating the labour market as a barrier to the development of the right. It compares two frameworks that address these concerns from the contrasted perspectives of human rights and employment policy — namely, the General Comment of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the European Employment Strategy. While these approaches are not natural allies, they can complement each other and construct an institutional system guided by the right to work as a superordinate norm.

Resumen.En este artículo se explica la singularidad del derecho al trabajo dentro de los derechos humanos y los problemas y dudas con los que tropieza en la esfera de la normativa laboral. El autor compara dos planteamientos que encaran el asunto desde las perspectivas propias de los derechos humanos y de la política eco‐nómica: una ≪observación general≫ del Comité de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales, y la Estrategia Europea de Empleo. Aunque no sea fácil, las dos líneas de actuación pueden compaginarse para construir un sistema institucional en el que el derecho al trabajo sea una norma rectora, superior.

Résumé.L'auteur expose plusieurs raisons de distinguer le droit au travail des autres droits de l'homme et souligne le dilemme possible entre ce droit et la réglementation du marché du travail. Il compare deux approches de ces préoccupations, l'une dans la sphère des droits de l'homme — l'Observation générale sur le droit au travail du Comité des droits économiques, sociaux et culturels —, l'autre dans la sphère de la politique de l'emploi — la stratégie européenne pour l'emploi —, qui peuvent se com‐pléter dans la construction d'un système institutionnel dont le droit au travail serait la norme supérieure.

AbstractThis article captures the shared understanding in the literature of labour law's interaction with gender, distinguishing between law's different functions – constituting labour market institutions, sustaining them, addressing unwarranted outcomes and transforming the institutions. Constituted, in part, by law, the standard employment relationship and the institutions of formal employment have segmenting gendered effects. While legal norms designed to correct these effects are important, they also sustain them. The authors argue for a transformative alternative that would follow two general principles in designing new labour standards, namely, universalization of scope and adaptive content in the interests of differently situated women and men.

ResumenTras estudiar el consenso bibliográfico sobre la interacción de la legislación laboral con el género, se distinguen las siguientes funciones del ordenamiento jurídico: constituir las instituciones del mercado laboral, sostenerlas, corregir sus resultados indeseados y transformarlas. La relación de trabajo típica y las instituciones del empleo formal, constituidas en virtud de ese proceso, tienen efectos segmentadores de género. La corrección normativa de esos efectos tiende a perpetuarlos. Los autores propugnan una alternativa transformadora de formulación de nuevas normas basadas en dos principios generales: universalización del ámbito de aplicación y adaptación del contenido a los intereses de mujeres y hombres en diferentes situaciones.