Paper short abstract:

The paper is built on the assumption that social standards should improve parallel to the economic development of countries. The author makes remarks concerning the need for reforms of the WTO and the ILO, and comments on possibilities connected with combining both forces.

Paper long abstract:

According to a traditional view, development pertains to economic development, which has frequently been opposed to law, especially labour law, which is perceived as hindering growth. The aim of the paper is to identify opportunities to improve the regulation of global processes towards providing not only economic growth, but also social justice and the effectiveness of fundamental labour rights. Nowadays in many countries (regions) fundamental labour rights are not sufficiently respected and efforts should be made to create effective mechanisms in this regard. We still have to deal with so-called race to the bottom. Low labour costs, the possibility of flexible employment reduction, lowering wages and reduction of duties related to social security are factors that often determine the transfer of business to countries offering the most favorable conditions of its operating. However, social standards should improve parallel to the economic development of countries. The author makes and develops some assumptions, e.g. that WTO law should be reformed and that the ILO and its supervisory mechanisms should be amended due to the fact that procedural compliance (concerned with formal obligations such as reporting) seems to be on the decline, and substantive compliance (i.e. whether states have fulfilled obligations set out in an international instrument) is also unsatisfactory, especially in terms that the ILO appears to be unable to respond to cases of non-compliance. The author also comments on possibilities connected with combining forces of the WTO and the ILO.