Legal-Conflict Constellations. A Political Approach to the ‘Labour Rights-Human Rights’ Debate

Abstract

Abstract The shift towards human rights is a cornerstone of contemporary labour law scholarship. However, the debate primarily follows a naturalistic approach, heavily reliant on an orthodox account of human rights as universal moral claims for all individuals. This article challenges this approach, arguing that it frames the debate in an antagonistic and compartmentalized manner, where the two legal domains are seen as distinct and homogeneous. By adopting a political approach, the article proposes framing the interactions between these legal realms through the notion of legal-conflict constellations, wherein labour-capital conflicts manifest as specific social problems that may be addressed, wholly or partially, through rights discourse. These legal-conflict constellations are built around three interconnected processes: politicization, recentring class and the formation of productive resistance alliances. The article makes the following contributions. First, it situates the debate within the broader context of the reshaping of labour law under neoliberalism. Second, it sheds light on the prevailing naturalistic approach and its shortcomings. Third, it proposes a political approach to the debate, advancing a framework to explore the intricate links between these legal fields.