Publication: Justice without the Rule of Law? The Challenge of Rights-Based Industrial Relations in Contemporary Cambodia
Date
2009-01
ISSN
Published
2009-01
Author(s)
Abstract
A significant proportion of the
world's work is done in contexts where the rule of law
is absent or severely lacking. This paper describes one such
context, that of contemporary Cambodia. Based on a
literature review and interviews with key informants the
authors find that there are opportunities to embed labor
markets in regulatory frameworks, even at the periphery of
the global economy. In such contexts, however, it is
suggested that orthodox models of legal and judicial reform,
which focus on drafting better laws and building capacity in
judicial and administrative institutions for their
enforcement, may not be the most effective way forward.
Rather, the Cambodian experience suggests that the following
were crucial in moving towards better protection of
workers' rights: understanding the limitations of law
as an instrument for attainment of rights absent independent
and accessible judicial institutions; confronting the
barriers to the establishment of such institutions (and
being open to alternative strategies); recalling that law
can have a powerful normative force, even without direct
enforcement; engaging with the way in which rights are
attained through processes of social contest; and supporting
institutional forums for such contests to be played out in
ways which maximize the potential for the disadvantaged to
take part and tap in to the legitimating power of the law.
Citation
“Adler, Daniel; Woolcock, Michael. 2009. Justice without the Rule of Law? The Challenge of Rights-Based Industrial Relations in Contemporary Cambodia. Justice and development working paper series;volume 2, issue no. 2. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18101 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”