International Law Immunities and Employment Claims: A Critical Appraisal

Description

This book provides the first comprehensive analysis of the international law regime of jurisdictional immunities in employment matters. Three main arguments lie at its heart. Firstly, this study challenges the widely held belief that international immunity law requires staff disputes to be subject to blanket or quasi-absolute immunity from jurisdiction. Secondly, it argues that it is possible to identify well-defined standards of limited immunity to be applied in the context of employment litigation against foreign states, international organisations and diplomatic and consular agents. Thirdly, it maintains that the interaction between the applicable immunity rules and international human rights law gives rise to a legal regime that can provide adequate protection to the rights of employees. This work is a much-needed study into an under-researched field of international and employment law. Acknowledgements Table of Contents Table of Cases Table of Instruments 1. Introduction 2. The International Law Immunities from Civil Jurisdiction –
An Overview I. Introduction II. Basic Concepts: Immunities, Jurisdiction and Substantive Law III. The Functional Rationale of the International Law Immunities from Civil Jurisdiction IV. Scope of State Immunity V. Scope of International Organisation Immunity VI. Scope of Diplomatic and Consular Immunity VII. Conclusions 3. The Undue Persistence of Absolute Immunity in Employment
Litigation I. Introduction II. Alleged Lack of Subject-Matter Jurisdiction of the Territorial State III. Absolute Immunity Based on Functionalist Policy Arguments IV. Absolute Immunity Based on the Public Nature of Employment V. Absolute Immunity Based on the Official Nature of Employment VI. Persistence of Absolute Immunity under Express Treaty Provisions VII. Conclusions: The Need for Limited Immunity Standards in Employment Litigation 4. Restrictive State Immunity Standards in Employment Matters I. Introduction II. The Emergence of Employment-Specific Approaches to Restrictive State Immunity III. Approaches Based on the Nature of the Workplace IV. Approaches Based on the Status and Functions of the Employee V. Approaches Based on the Nationality and Residence of the Employee VI. Approaches Based on the Subject Matter of the Claim VII. Approaches Based on Forum Selection Clauses in the Employment Contract VIII. Restrictive State Immunity in Employment Matters under Customary International Law IX. Conclusions 5. Limited Immunity Standards for Employers Other than the State I. Introduction II. Limited Standards of International Organisation Immunity in Employment Matters III. Limited Standards of Diplomatic and Consular Immunity in Employment Matters IV. Conclusions 6. Reconciling Immunities and the Employees’ Right of Access
to Justice I. Introduction II. Approaches Deferring to International Obligations to Grant Immunity to Employers III. Approaches Requiring the Availability to Employees of Alternative Means of Redress IV. The Risk of Remedy Gaps and the Need for a Consistent Approach V. Conclusions 7. Conclusions I. Argument No 1: Absolute Employer Immunity Is an Unfounded Legal Myth II. Argument No 2: Well-Defined Standards of Limited Employer Immunity Can Be Identified III. Argument No 3: The Equivalent Protection Test Should Apply to All Employer Immunities IV. The Way Forward: Human Rights Law as an Agent of Coherence Bibliography Index