Does Labour Law Need Philosophical Foundations? (Introduction)

This is the introductory chapter of the book Philosophical Foundations of Labour Law (Collins, Lester, Mantouvalou eds, OUP, 2018). It argues that labour law needs philosophical foundations and explains that careful reflection about underlying moral and political principles and values can serve to provide firm foundations and a clear sense of direction for labour law. At a time when many appear to doubt the value of labour laws and workers’ rights at all, the chapter suggests that it is necessary to reassert that the values and principles that provide the foundations for a system of labour law are not those of a narrow special interest group, but rather embrace interpretations of key values such as freedom, autonomy, dignity, equal respect, democracy, and social justice

Intimations of conformity in a network society: the quality of goods and compliance with labour standards

European contract law requires goods marketed to consumers to satisfy various standards such as to be fit for the purposes for which such goods are ordinarily used and to 'possess such qualities and performance capabilities as the buyer may expect' (Art. 100(g) Common European Sales Law (CESL)). Although the law tends to focus on the qualities of the goods in themselves, my question is whether the reasonable expectations of consumers include reference to the means of production up the supply chain and an expectation that the goods will not be produced through the use of labour that is employed under conditions that violate European Union (EU) labour laws, international labour standards, and human rights law. For instance, should consumers have the expectation that the clothes we purchase are not produced through child labour, or that the mobile phones we buy are not produced under working conditions that breach basic standards such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) and EU rules on working time, or that the tomatoes we eat are not picked by labourers working under conditions of servitude contrary to Article 4 of the European Convention of Human Rights? If consumers have such expectations and EU contract law can protect them, the law may provide a vehicle for addressing some of the worst instances of labour exploitation worldwide

Is a relational contract a legal concept?

The idea of a relational contract has been discussed in sociology, economics and law. The concept has recently been adopted in a trilogy of decisions in the High Court in the United Kingdom. The paper addresses two questions. What does the idea of a relational contract mean? If the notion of relational contract applies to a contract, does it have particular legal implications for the transaction, such as an expansion of mandatory or supplementary duties of disclosure and obligations to perform in good faith? The paper proposes a concept of relational contracts that emphasises the economic significance of indeterminate implicit obligations and which supports the development of a contextual approach to interpretation and the insertion of implied obligations of co-operation and mutual trust and confidence

Implied terms: the foundation in good faith and fair dealing

With the aim of clarifying English law of implied terms in contracts and explaining their basis in the idea of good faith in performance, it is argued first that two, but no more, types of implied terms can be distinguished (terms implied in fact and terms implied by law), though it is explained why these types are frequently confused. Second, the technique of implication of terms is distinguished in most instances from the task of interpretation of contracts. Third, it is argued that ideas of good faith and fair dealing should be acknowledged as central to the implication of terms, though different notions of good faith apply to terms implied in fact and terms implied by law. Finally, it is possible to identify a group of contracts (networks) that share an intensified economic logic of both competition and co-operation arising from their structure as a quasi-integrated production regime which require intensified duties of loyalty and co-operation implied by law

Implied terms: the foundation in good faith and fair dealing

With the aim of clarifying English law of implied terms in contracts and explaining their basis in the idea of good faith in performance, it is argued first that two, but no more, types of implied terms can be distinguished (terms implied in fact and terms implied by law), though it is explained why these types are frequently confused. Second, the technique of implication of terms is distinguished in most instances from the task of interpretation of contracts. Third, it is argued that ideas of good faith and fair dealing should be acknowledged as central to the implication of terms, though different notions of good faith apply to terms implied in fact and terms implied by law. Finally, it is possible to identify a group of contracts (networks) that share an intensified economic logic of both competition and co-operation arising from their structure as a quasi-integrated production regime which require intensified duties of loyalty and co-operation implied by law

2D and 3D photonic crystal materials for photocatalysis and electrochemical energy storage and conversion

This perspective reviews recent advances in inverse opal structures, how they have been developed, studied and applied as catalysts, catalyst support materials, as electrode materials for batteries, water splitting applications, solar-to-fuel conversion and electrochromics, and finally as photonic photocatalysts and photoelectrocatalysts. Throughout, we detail some of the salient optical characteristics that underpin recent results and form the basis for light-matter interactions that span electrochemical energy conversion systems as well as photocatalytic systems. Strategies for using 2D as well as 3D structures, ordered macroporous materials such as inverse opals are summarized and recent work on plasmonic–photonic coupling in metal nanoparticle-infiltrated wide band gap inverse opals for enhanced photoelectrochemistry are provided

Mesoporosity in doped silicon nanowires from metal assisted chemical etching monitored by phonon scattering

Si nanowires (NWs) are shown to develop internal mesoporosity during metal assisted chemical etching from Si wafers. The onset of internal porosity in n+-Si(100) compared to p-Si(100) is examined through a systematic investigation of etching parameters (etching time, AgNO3 concentration, HF % and temperature). Electron microscopy and Raman scattering show that specific etching conditions reduce the size of the internal Si nanocrystallites in the internal mesoporous structure to 3–5 nm. Mesoporous NWs are found to have diameters as large as 500 nm, compared to ~100 nm for p-NWs that develop surface roughness. Etching of Si (100) wafers results in (100)-oriented NWs forming a three-fold symmetrical surface texture, without internal NW mesoporosity. The vertical etching rate is shown to depend on carrier concentration and degree of internal mesoporosity formation. Raman scattering of the transverse optical phonon and photoluminescence measurements confirm quantum size effects, phonon scattering and visible intense red light emission between 685 and 720 nm in internally mesoporous NWs associated with the etching conditions. Laser power heating of NWs confirms phonon confinement and scattering, which is demonstrated to be a function of the internal mesoporosity development. We also demonstrate the limitation of mesoporosity formation in n+-Si NWs and development of porosity within p-Si NWs by controlling the etching conditions. Lastly, the data confirm that phonon confinement and scattering often reported for Si NWs is due to surface-bound and internal nanostructure, rather than simply a diameter reduction in NW materials