7 Nov 2024
Brown Bag Seminar,
12:30 - 13:30 (local time: Europe/Zurich),
Anna Nausbaum
World Trade, Child Labour and Transnational Constitutionalism - The Case for a New Legal Humanism
The main query this work seek to answer is whether the current structure of the global legal order is still adequate to solve global problems such as child labour? Taking the case of child labour and trade, this book argues for more coherence between human rights and trade law, analysing the world trade law compatibility of topical trade measures on (forced) child labour such as the US Tariff Act of 1930 or the proposal for an EU Forced Labour Regulation, mainly under the GATT non-discrimination principles and the policy exceptions clause. Discussing theories such as constitutionalism and pluralism, Franziska Humbert develops the idea of a New Legal Humanism as a cognitive frame for the global legal order. With regard to the current political debate over corporate human rights diligence especially in the EU, the book offers the opportunity to set a frame for a systematic discussion instead of a politically driven heightened debate over new corporate sustainability legislative proposals at EU Level.
Dr PD Franziska Humbert has a doctorate in international economic and human rights law and did her postdoctoral thesis in the field of international economic and transnational constitutional law at the WTI of the Law Faculty of Berne. Having begun her career as a lawyer in media and labour rights law in Germany, she has been working as a political advisor in the field of business and human rights at Oxfam Germany since 2006. Since 2021, she has been leading the Just Economies Team at Oxfam, which covers global supply chains, agroecology and climate policy. Franziska Humbert has contributed to the adoption of various laws, guidelines, Directives and Regulations in the field of business and human rights at EU and national level, such as the so-called CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Directive, the Directive on Unfair Trading Practices, the German Supply Chain and Human Rights Due Diligence Act and recently the EUCSDDD, the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, through successful advocacy (lobbying) work. Next to her legal expertise, she has long-proven experience in doing both advocacy work with political and corporate decision-makers. Franziska Humbert has conducted critical campaigns targeting supermarket chains such as Lidl and has also negotiated intensively with companies on their human rights policies as part of the successful ‘Oxfam Supermarket Scorecard’. Jointly with other German NGOs, she has recently submitted two complaints on behalf of the Ecuadorian trade union ASTAC under the German Supply Chains and Due Diligence Act. Franziska Humbert has published in the field of international economic, human rights and constitutional law and conducted several field studies on global fruit supply chains. She has been teaching at the University of Zurich, the Leuphana University of Lüneburg and is currently engaged at the University of Halle.
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