Trade Union Legal Experts Network for South East Europe
The Legal Experts Network operates as an extension in the Balkan region of the existing ETUC network of Trade union legal experts - NETLEX, combining expertise from both EU member-states and CEE accession countries. SEE experts would also profit from the established database that has accumulated information for more than five years of operation of NETLEX, including answers and legal advice on particular questions of labour law development in the CEE transition countries.
Description
The core pattern of action follows the labour law project for the Baltic region within NETLEX, amended and extended to match the realities and necessities of the Balkans.The main fields of the operation to be addressed by the network are focussed on:
contractual relations, the process of litigation, fundamental labour rights.
The network involves representatives of all emerging industrial relations systems in the region – setting up their individual legislative frameworks, structures and mechanisms for interaction of the actors. The operation of the network is structured along three major lines of activities:
1. Developing of working capacity in the field of labour law based on the concepts, legal norms and practices in the EU and in accession countries. Providing legal advice and direct assistance by experts from EU, CEE on draft law development and presentation. Cumulative results will strengthen the potential for standard setting through both legislature and court decisions and address one of key weaknesses of the development of social dialogue in all transition countries - the serious discrepancy between normative frameworks and their enforcement in real life through decisions of state bodies and especially the judicial system.
2. Laying the basis for monitoring the process of setting up and the profiles of the emerging systems of industrial relations and social dialogue. The ETUI report 78 “Labour relations in South East Europe – A legal overview in 2003” provided a good picture of the level of harmonisation of the structure and patterns of operation among the systems in the region, major bottlenecks, "white spots" in the crisscrossing of old and new laws provisions and mechanisms for violation, i.e. the problem areas where action would be required. It would also identify "good” and “bad” practices to provide better basis for the setting of priorities for trade union and social development policies.
3. Assistance in mastering the practical use of major European and ILO instruments for protection and promotion of labour and social rights - the European Social Charter of the Council of Europe, the Court in Strasbourg, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, ILO conventions, EU directives, etc.
Following a new contract with the donors a second cycle of the project started in September 2003 repeating the same activities as in 2002 - a meeting of the network (Sep. 2003), preparation of national reports for the regional overview and direct assistance on developing legal documents in the region - opinions, recomendations, comments.
Researchers
Wiebke Warneck
Researcherphone: +32 (0) 2 224 05 32
Stefan Clauwaert
Senior researcherphone: +32 (0) 2 224 05 04
Isabelle Schömann
Senior Researcher - NETLEX Coordinatorphone: + 49 421 200 50 20