Corsi di Studio del Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza

Students are expected to have previously attended a course in International Law and a course in EU Law. Prior attendance of a course in Labour Law is also recommended.

This course aims to provide students with an advanced understanding of labour law in its international and European dimensions. Rather than offering a comprehensive institutional overview, the course, at least for attending students (see below the section regarding the exam), adopts a thematic and problem-oriented approach, focusing on selected key and contemporary issues at the intersection of International and EU Labour Law.

In the first part of the course, students will be briefly introduced to the institutional frameworks relevant to labour regulation at the international and European levels. This concise overview will focus on the main institutional actors involved, including the United Nations (UN), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the European Union (EU), and the Council of Europe (CoE).

The second part of the course will explore a range of substantive topics in which International and EU labour law intersect and interact. These topics will be selected based on their current relevance and foundational importance, and will cover both individual and collective dimensions of labour law.

The course will equip students with the analytical tools to critically engage with the transnational regulation of work and labour rights.

By the end of the course, students should be able to demonstrate:

• Knowledge and understanding:
• A solid understanding of selected key aspects of International and EU Labour Law, with particular attention to their interaction and concrete impact on national legal systems.
• The ability to analyse and interpret a wide range of sources produced by international and European institutional actors, including legislation, judicial decisions, collective bargaining agreements, non-binding instruments, and academic commentary.
• Awareness of the multilevel structure of labour regulation and of the role played by supranational standards in shaping national labour law frameworks.
• Ability to apply knowledge:
• The capacity to use the acquired knowledge to address real-world regulatory problems, identifying possible solutions from normative, judicial, and policy perspectives.
• The ability to recognise and assess the tensions and synergies between different legal orders—international, European, and national—and between individual and collective dimensions of labour regulation.
• Autonomy and critical thinking:
• The development of independent analytical and interpretive skills, including the ability to synthesise information, identify key legal issues, and critically evaluate existing regulatory models.
• The ability to reflect on the effectiveness of regulatory strategies and institutional responses to labour issues, and to formulate reasoned critiques and proposals for reform.
• Communication skills:
• The ability to express complex legal reasoning clearly and precisely, both in oral discussions and in written work, using appropriate legal terminology.
• The capacity to construct well-founded arguments that integrate legal, judicial, and policy-based reasoning, grounded in the careful reading of relevant institutional and scholarly sources.

First part – Institutional framework

The first part provides an overview of the key institutional frameworks relevant to labour regulation at both international and European levels, focusing on the roles of the United Nations, the International Labour Organization, the European Union, and the Council of Europe.

Second part – Selected topics in International and EU Labour Law

The second part explores selected contemporary and foundational topics where International and EU labour law intersect and interact.

These topics, chosen for their current relevance, cover both collective and individual labour law issues, and will be selected from the following: freedom of association, collective bargaining, the right to strike, workers’ participation in business matters, forced labour, employment status, atypical forms of work, minimum wage, working conditions, equality in the workplace, and labour regulation in supply chains.

In each class, we will examine how these rights are recognized and protected at the international and European levels, and how supranational regulation contributes to shaping national labour systems. Particular attention will be given to emerging trends—such as the impact of artificial intelligence, the rise of platform work, and the globalization of supply chains—which raise pressing questions of social, and increasingly also environmental, sustainability. These developments challenge traditional regulatory models and call for renewed approaches to the regulation of labour. The course will provide students with a critical framework to assess how labour law can respond to contemporary transformations while remaining anchored in its foundational protective function.

The course will be delivered through a combination of complementary teaching components designed to foster active participation and critical engagement:

• In-person lectures, aimed at introducing key institutional frameworks and guiding students through the selected thematic issues.
• Assigned readings and class discussions, based on a variety of sources, including legislation, judicial decisions, collective bargaining agreements, non-binding instruments, and academic commentary. These materials will be used to critically explore the interplay between legal norms, institutional practices, and policy responses.
• Group assignments, in which each group will develop a critical analysis on one of the topics discussed in the second part of the course. Assignments will be evaluated as part of the final assessment.

All teaching materials will be made available on the Moodle platform of the course. It is therefore essential and mandatory that all students enrol on Moodle to gain full access to course materials and communications.

This teaching structure applies to attending students. For non-attending students, the mandatory materials will be two textbooks, that will be referred in the dedicated section below.

It is therefore essential and compulsory that all the students enroll in the Moodle platform to have full access both to materials and communications.

Attending students

Assessment for attending students will be based on two components:

• Group assignments (30% of the grade): each group will produce a critical analysis on one of the topics discussed in the second part of the course. The assignment will be evaluated on the depth of analysis, critical insight, and appropriate use of sources.
• Oral exam (70% of the grade): the oral exam will cover the themes addressed during the course and the materials analyzed in class and uploaded on Moodle.

Non-attending students

Assessment for non-attending students will consist of a single oral exam, which will focus on the textbooks specified at the end of the syllabus. During the oral exam, students must demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of the textbooks.

The Moodle e-learning page of the course is a key instrument. Students are expected to enrol in the Moodle page of the course and to check it regularly.

Students facing special learning disorders are kindly encouraged to contact the professor to disclose any hurdles they face with the study materials and the course activities. This is crucial to ensure that all students can have full and easy access to the learning opportunities offered during the course. Please check the relevant webpage of the Law Department website, which outlines the available institutional support and tools: https://www.giurisprudenza.unito.it/do/home.pl/View?doc=/Studiare/dsa.html

Attending students

Mandatory materials will be available on Moodle. The textbooks listed above are not required but are recommended for students who wish to gain a more comprehensive overview of the subject.

Non-attending students

The textbooks listed above are the only mandatory materials.