Comparative Labour Law Today: Methods, Contexts, and Legal Cultures

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Abstract

In recent decades some structural changes have happened in the way ideas and legal institutions have circulated in labour law. Prompted by globalisation (and post-globalisation) and accelerated by an unprecedented accessibility of legal sources (legislation, case law, legal scholarship), labour law regimes have followed diverging trajectories across different legal cultures and territorial contexts. The exercise of ‘comparing’ in this field has thus become today something very different than what was between the 19th and 20th Centuries. Conducting legal research, teaching to under- and post-graduate international students, and organising collective experiences gathered in journals and research projects, requires today employing old and new methodologies in a changed contextual background.

This conference aims to discuss fundamental questions on

• research,
• teaching, and
• concrete actions in comparative labour law.

It will do so starting from the methodological and diachronic insights of two keynote speakers (Session 1) and will then revolve around the three aforementioned themes. More specifically, Session 2 will explore how comparative methodologies enhance legal research and understanding of labour law across different jurisdictions. Session 3 will investigate how comparative labour law methods are integrated into law curricula at university level. Session 4, organised in the form of roundtable, will showcase existing experiences and techniques for involving the academic community in comparative research on labour law (mainly focusing on international journals and cross-country research projects). All sessions will leave ample room for discussion, which will be wrapped up by the concluding speaker.

Language

English.

This is a free hybrid event. Registration is mandatory.

Programme

Monday, 29 June 2026

• 12.30 – 13.30

  Welcome and Opening Remarks

  Luca Ratti (University of Luxembourg)

• 13.30 – 15.00

  Session 1: The Comparative Method(s)

  Keynote speeches

  • Jaakko Husa (University of Helsinki)
  • Achim Seifert (University of Saarland)

• 15.00 – 15.15

  Coffee Break

• 15.15 – 18.30

  Session 2: Doing Comparative Research in Labour Law – Exploring how comparative methodologies enhance legal research and understanding of labour law across different jurisdictions.

  · Chair: *

  Speakers:

  • Guy Davidov (BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo)
  • Cristina Hiessl (KU Leuven)
  • Adalberto Perulli (University of Venezia Ca’ Foscari)
  • Benjamin Sachs (Harvard University)

• 18.30

  Networking cocktail/dinner

Tuesday, 30 June 2026

• 09.00 – 10.30

  Session 3: Teaching Labour Law in Global Settings – Investigating how comparative labour law approaches are integrated into law curricula at university level.

  Chair: *

  Speakers:

  • Elena Gramano (Bocconi Law School)
  • Daniel Perez Del Prado (University of Madrid Carlos III)
  • Luca Ratti (University of Luxembourg)

• 10.30 – 10.45

  Coffee break

• 10.45 – 12.30

  Session 4/ROUNDTABLE: Comparative labour law and research ‘in action’ Sharing experiences and techniques for involving the academic community in comparative research on labour law (journals and research projects)

  Chair: *

  Speakers:

  • Elisabeth Brameshuber (University of Vienna)
  • Valerio De Stefano (Osgoode Law School, Toronto)
  • Frank Hendricks (KU Leuven)
  • Tatiana Sachs (Paris Nanterre)

• 12.30 – 13.00

  Closing Remarks and Q&A

  Marzia Barbera (University of Brescia)

*Sessions will be chaired by young colleagues selected by LLC-Labour Law Community amongst those who will participate in the upcoming ECOLL Summer school (October 2026) on comparative labour law

In collaboration with