732-307 Law and Labour Relations In East Asia

The subject will comprise the following topics: the origins of labour law in East Asia - an introduction to the evolution of labour law models in the relevant countries; transferability of legal models - an examination of the ways in which East-Asian countries have 'borrowed' Anglo-American, and Australian models of labour law; the adaptation of legal models in Asia - an examination of the ways in which laws and legal institutions are adapted to fit cultural, economic and political contexts; the regulation of the individual employer-employee relationship - an outline of the law comparing approaches to the contract of employment and the regulation of labour standards in the region; the regulation of industrial relations systems - an outline of the law comparing approaches to the regulation of trade unions, and methods of industrial dispute settlement in the region; industrial relations in practice - a study of the practice, and a comparison of the formal rules, and actual practice.

A mid-semester research essay to a maximum of 2500 words (50%) and a 2-hour examination (50%).

• Cooney, Law and Labour Market Regulation in East Asia. London, 2002.