Beginning with a discussion of the right to strike in international law, the chapter explains how most industrial action was regarded as a tortious wrong. Statute provides a limited immunity for trade unions and their officials for industrial action that is part of a trade dispute. In order to obtain that immunity in tort, trade unions must carry out a secret ballot of the members to demonstrate that there is majority support for a strike. Apart from the foregoing, this chapter also examines legal restrictions on secondary action and picketing, and concludes with a discussion of the limited impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on the scope of the right to strike in British law.

Chapter 1 introduces the main issues raised in Labour Law and its social and economic significance in regulating workplace relations. The chapter introduces the principal sources of labour law in the UK, which include statutes, the common law and European law and the difficulties in securing compliance by employers with those laws. It describes the system of employment tribunals and ordinary courts where disputes are resolved. Finally the chapter introduces some contemporary themes concerning precarious work, work/life balance and human rights at work.

The rapid development of drone technologies and ever-increasing numbers of drone operations have introduced new challenges to privacy in the context of aerial surveillance. This chapter reveals the diverse ways in which the use of drone technology can interfere with the right to privacy and stresses how the advanced capabilities of modern drones contribute to the increased frequency and severity of privacy violations. The chapter also explores the broader implications of drone regulation on human rights, emphasising the tension between protecting privacy and ensuring other rights, such as freedom of expression and the right to property. It draws attention to the necessity for legislators to develop a comprehensive understanding of these threats to craft an effective legal framework. By critically examining existing drone legislation, particularly from a European perspective, the chapter highlights the main areas on which a legal response to the threats posed by the use of drones should concentrate. A proactive and holistic regulatory approach is proposed, balancing the competing interests of privacy protection, innovation, and other fundamental rights.

This chapter examines the phenomenon of disinformation in the digital era and its implications for freedom of expression. It explores how the rapid dissemination of false, manipulated, and misleading information – termed a ‘disinfodemic’ – poses threats to human rights, democracy, and public trust. The chapter outlines the historical roots of disinformation, the technological factors that enable it, and the responses by public and private actors to mitigate its harmful effects. The chapter differentiates between disinformation (intentional), misinformation (unintentional), and malinformation (genuine information used to harm), while highlighting their diverse forms, such as fake news, deepfakes, and conspiracy theories. Disinformation erodes public trust, affects electoral integrity, threatens public health, and harms individuals’ rights to information and privacy. The chapter emphasises the necessity of finding a balance between combating disinformation and preserving freedom of expression.

The chapter examines internet addiction as a threat to human rights. Medical research indicates that excessive internet use can lead to mental and physical health issues, behavioural risks, and impaired functioning. Specific features of the internet, such as ease of access and anonymity, may contribute to addiction. Although only a minority develop this addiction, vulnerable groups, especially children and those with pre-existing mental health conditions, are at higher risk. Law and policy responses include public health approaches, consumer protection, and initiatives to protect vulnerable groups. The right to disconnect is emerging as a potential solution, particularly in work contexts, but its effectiveness in addressing internet addiction is limited. International human rights law provides a framework for addressing internet addiction, but specific interpretations are still developing. Multidisciplinary approaches integrating mental health research with legal analysis are crucial for developing effective responses.

Scholars have sometimes treated nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as beneficent stewards of the global good that act in opposition to the limited and selfish interests of nations. This chapter calls for approaches that treat these groups as organizations that often serve government interests; have bureaucratic structures and agendas that must be analyzed and understood; are buffeted by funding constraints that shape aspiration and action; and are driven in part by self-serving motives such as increasing their own prestige. The chapter offers practical tips for studying biographies of key figures, broader historical contexts, inter- and intraorganizational rivalries, and professionalization, among other matters.

This chapter explores the challenges of applying human rights frameworks to the digital realm through the lens of non-coherence theory. This theory posits that human rights in the digital domain differ fundamentally from their offline counterparts owing to shifts in meaning, scope, and application. The chapter critically examines the assumption that offline human rights norms can be seamlessly transposed into the digital environment, highlighting the distortions and variances that arise in this process. It also delves into epistemological and ontological concerns, such as the relativity of human rights in the digital space, and introduces new conceptual frameworks such as the equilibrium of relative rights thesis. The chapter highlights discrepancies in how rights, such as privacy and dignity, manifest online compared with offline, arguing that these differences necessitate a rethinking of legal frameworks. The chapter challenges the traditional notion of absolute human rights, arguing that digital environments introduce a relativity that shifts the balance between competing rights (e.g., privacy versus freedom of expression).

This chapter discusses possible interpretations for the failure of COVID-19 tracking apps during the pandemic in the Western world in the context of digitalisation. It revisits the impact of digitalisation in public law and examines specific norms governing the right to health. The chapter explores key barriers, including privacy concerns, technological limitations, and public distrust, that contributed to the inefficacy of these digital tools. By analysing these challenges, the study identifies lessons for future digital health policies, emphasising the need for transparent governance, legal safeguards, and public engagement. It argues that human rights law must evolve to better balance privacy with public health objectives, ensuring digital technologies enhance rather than undermine fundamental rights.

Starting from the evolution of the protection of human rights on the internet, the first part of this chapter analyses the proposals for new digital human rights and the methodology of their creation in different forums such as the Council of Europe and European Union as well as related processes in the United Nations Human Rights Council. The second part focuses on the challenges related to the rapid developments in artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, for the protection of human rights and regulatory efforts by the Council of Europe, in particular its Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law adopted in 2024 and the Artificial Intelligence Act of the European Union dating from the same year. Both instruments are analysed for their potential to protect human and fundamental rights in particular through new digital human rights. The contribution finds possible complementarity between the two regulatory approaches. Giving several examples, it concludes that there is an ongoing process of the concretisation of new digital human rights, which are mainly but not exclusively based on existing human rights.

The rise of microtargeted online disinformation (MOD) has raised concerns over its harms to democracy and human rights. Debates over the regulation of MOD crystallise around Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to freedom of expression, and its limited capacity to regulate disinformation. As the chapter demonstrates, the effects of disinformation are compounded by microtargeting techniques. These facilitate the surgical spread of information to homogeneous groups, based on the analysis of people’s personal data. The chapter contends that human rights protection has shifted from human rights law to other legal regimes. They centre on the protection of personal data, the regulation of online platforms and search engines and the technological systems that propel them, and the use of targeted political advertising. The chapter demonstrates this claim with reference to selected European Union legal instruments, discussing their capacity to address the harmful effects of MOD. It will be argued that the broadening of human rights protection beyond human rights law should be welcomed, but it also has significant limitations, including enforcement gaps and wide-ranging scope for exemptions.

The chapter focuses on contemporary challenges at the intersection of the digital boom, international investment, and human rights. It examines the evolving dynamics of investment in digital technologies, highlighting the need for a delicate balance between promoting international investment and identifying or protecting fundamental rights. It looks into the rapid progress of technologies and their impact on legal frameworks. In a landscape where countries are actively engaging in digital investment for growth and development, the chapter examines the governance of these relationships both through specific interconnections of the main pillars and through international treaties. The strategic and significant ramifications of these treaties are highlighted, while emphasising the role of specific national regulations, particularly in areas such as intellectual property, national security, and economic progress. Cases where actors in the field of international investment law are able to gain control over technologies highlight the wider implications for public policy. In conclusion, the chapter highlights the need for legal frameworks to adapt appropriately to the digital age.

This chapter analyses the evolving role of states in safeguarding freedom of expression within the digital environment, particularly on social media platforms. It highlights how states have both negative obligations (to avoid undue interference) and positive obligations (to actively protect and ensure the right to freedom of expression). The European Court of Human Rights and other international bodies emphasise that states must create a favourable environment for public debate, protect speakers from harm, and ensure media pluralism. These obligations extend to relations between private parties, including users and internet intermediaries. The chapter emphasises that freedom of expression in the digital age requires states to actively safeguard rights while balancing regulation and accountability. It warns against reliance on private platforms for enforcing speech limitations and underscores the importance of transparent, rights-based governance.

This chapter provides an overview of the evolution and current dynamics in international administrative law, emphasizing the unprecedented growth in international administrative tribunals (IATs) over the past three decades. The introduction outlines the structural, quantitative, and qualitative changes reshaping this field, including the expansion in the use of non-staff personnel and the increase in the importance of human rights within international administrative law. The chapter highlights IATs’ convergence on common issues across diverse institutions, and explains the study’s approach and methodology, focussing on jurisprudential commonalities and the emergence of shared procedural standards across tribunals.

This chapter provides an overview of the evolution and current dynamics in international administrative law, emphasizing the unprecedented growth in international administrative tribunals (IATs) over the past three decades. The introduction outlines the structural, quantitative, and qualitative changes reshaping this field, including the expansion in the use of non-staff personnel and the increase in the importance of human rights within international administrative law. The chapter highlights IATs’ convergence on common issues across diverse institutions, and explains the study’s approach and methodology, focussing on jurisprudential commonalities and the emergence of shared procedural standards across tribunals.

The right to education is a human right recognised by a number of international legal instruments and the civilised world. Agreement about the language used as the medium of instruction, however, is not so easily achieved – should it be available only in the official language or should it also be provided in minority languages? Is there a right or even a duty to learn the official language? There have been recent developments in international law clarifying this issue, and problems were also identified during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is abundant research that the COVID-19 pandemic had more negative effects on ethnic and national minorities than on the majority population, including in the field of education. Facilitation of access to education was ensured mostly in the official language, while students studying in minority languages were left behind.

This chapter examines the philosophical and practical foundations for state regulation of the internet, focusing on the interplay between individual rights and societal interests. It argues that the digital realm introduces unique challenges that require state intervention to preserve the integrity of public discourse and democratic values. Drawing on legal theory, particularly the ideas of Lon L. Fuller, the chapter emphasises the importance of fostering trust, maintaining the rule of law, and balancing power between states, private actors, and users in internet governance. The chapter critiques the traditional view of rights as individualistic and argues for a more community-focused approach, emphasising that human rights should serve the common good. Trust is highlighted as a cornerstone of effective internet governance. The chapter underscores that moving online fundamentally alters the scope, impact, and mechanisms of regulation. Human rights law and governance frameworks must adapt to preserve trust, community, and the integrity of public discourse in the digital age.

This introductory chapter outlines the key themes and scope of the book, exploring how digital technologies reshape fundamental rights, create new regulatory challenges, and deepen existing inequalities. It describes the role of the Global Digital Human Rights Network in shaping this book and the benefits of this interdisciplinary network for the analysis provided in the chapters. Central to the coherence of the book’s narrative is the innovative use of fundamental questions, forming the cornerstones of each of the parts of the volume. The book is structured around four core questions: (a) What difference does it make to move online? (b) How should freedom of expression be applied in the digital environment? (c) How should human rights law respond to the challenges of digital technologies? and (d) What challenges do vulnerable groups face in the digital realm? By framing its analysis around fundamental questions and diverse regional contexts, the book aims to provide a comprehensive and forward-looking examination of human rights in the digital era.

This chapter explores the systemic inequalities exacerbated by unequal access to digital technologies, known as the digital divide. This divide disproportionately affects vulnerable populations such as women, older people, and rural communities, limiting their access to services, education, and opportunities. The chapter investigates the digital divide’s root causes, including socio-economic disparities, geographic isolation, cultural and language barriers, technological gaps, and insufficient policy interventions. It emphasises the human rights implications of this divide, such as restricted access to education, healthcare, and democratic participation. It also examines international and regional policy responses, noting their shortcomings in addressing the issue comprehensively. The chapter concludes by emphasising the urgent need for inclusive policies, targeted interventions, and international cooperation to bridge the digital divide and ensure that digitalisation benefits all, especially those most at risk of exclusion.

This chapter canvasses more than 400 decisions across some twenty IATs where references to international human rights instruments have appeared. Interestingly, it emerges that the vast majority of cases in which such instruments are cited concern three substantive areas: non-discrimination, due process rights and economic rights. The chapter therefore focusses on these three areas. It then reviews citations to human rights instruments in a variety of other substantive areas, including privacy rights, expression related rights, the right not to be arbitrarily deprived of nationality, and the right to just and favourable conditions of work. The chapter concludes that while IATs now regularly refer to international human rights instruments, their treatment of this body of law is inconsistent, ranging from some judgments refusing to acknowledge its direct applicability at all to other judgments considering it hierarchically superior to other sources of law.

Defending a particular vision of the freedom of expression rooted in its history and culture, the European Union has, in recent years, significantly increased its interventions in internet law. However, it has often refrained from taking a clear stance on the issue of the global or regional reach of its legal framework. This situation indirectly fosters a form of digital imperialism and provokes tension with many digital stakeholders who have adopted an American perspective on freedom of expression. Such a situation could potentially have disastrous consequences for the future of the internet. This chapter explores the causes of this conflict and suggests possible directions for solutions, highlighting the need to redefine the protection of online freedom of expression.