Partecipanti:

Francesca Limena

Andrea Sitzia

Benedetto Zaccaria

Dorothea Hoehtker

Sandrine Kott

Daniel Roger Maul

Guia Migani

Fabrice Rosa

Gianni Rosas

Roberto Ventresca

Principal investigator:

Lorenzo Mechi

Abstract:

The project aims to reconstruct the contribution of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to the progressive building of an increasingly integrated economic and social system in Europe. This will be pursued by a working group of historians and jurists, and with the participation of some officials from the ILO itself.
Historians will base their research primarily on the documentation of the ILO historical archives in Geneva, and to a lesser extent on that of other archival facilities, such as the EU historical archives in Florence and the archives of the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam. Supported also by historiography and the extensive grey literature produced by the organisations concerned, it will thus be able to reconstruct both the ILO’s contribution to the harmonisation of European national legislations in social and labour matters, and the ILO role in the formulation of the policies of European cooperation bodies, first and foremost social and labour policies (and some elements of association and development aid policies) of the EEC/EU.
Legal scholars, on the other hand, will study how the major European courts – the EU Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights – as well as the Italian and French High Courts, have used the International Labour Conventions in their jurisprudence. The aim is to complement the analyses of the historians about the ILO influence on European regionalism through support of common policies or harmonisation of national policies, with a study of its impact on a more genuine legal level.

Obiettivi:

The project aims to provide an overview of the role played by the International Labour Organisation in building an integrated European socio-economic system. A role which has historically involved several dimensions, by stimulating the harmonisation of national social protection systems, contributing to the policy-making of European cooperation bodies, and influencing in many ways national and European legislation and jurisprudence with international labour conventions. While a comprehensive coverage of these aspects in detail is impossible due to the forces and time available to the project, the ambition is at least to adequately study all key aspects.
The results of the research will be collected in a publication in English, hopefully with an international publisher in order to guarantee its widest circulation. Precisely with this aim, the opportunity of publishing in open access format will indeed be studied.

Piano delle attività:

In January 2023 a researcher will be recruted with the twofold task of assisting the team in research (in archives, libraries and online sources) and participating with his/her own contribution to the project.
In general, the entire year 2023 will be dedicated to the research of the project members. The principal investigator will coordinate these activities through bilateral contacts with the other members and regular online meetings.
A conference will be organised in spring/summer 2024, in which the members of the project will present their results, and which will also be the occasion to start defining the shape and contents of the final publication.

Contatti:

lorenzo.mechi@unipd.it