Collective action in labour conflicts under the Rome II regulation (part I)

In this first part of our two-part study (the second part will be published in the next issue of the ELLJ), the authors discuss the background and the scope of application of Article 9 of the Rome II Regulation. This Article contains a special rule for the law applying to non-contractual obligations arising out of cross-border collective action. With this, the Regulation - at first sight - seems to recognize the special status of industrial relations within the system of private international law. Upon closer scrutiny, however, the provision is still very much based on private law concepts. This leads to uncertainty as to the exact scope of application of the provision and this in turn reduces its effectiveness in protecting the right to collective action in cross-border cases.