Collective self-regulation and private international law : A study in private international law of the Swedish model of collectively self-regulated employment conditions

This doctoral thesis examines the influence of private international law on the Swedish model for collective self-regulation of employment conditions. The Swedish model is characterized by the crucial importance of private collective agreements. In the thesis, the Swedish model is structured as a three step procedure following the creation and implementation of employment conditions. In the first step employment conditions are negotiated under a mutual threat of industrial action. Employment conditions are then, in the second step, settled in collective agreements. In the third step, employment conditions are carried out in individual employment contracts. Swedish substantive labour law serves as an infrastructure for this collective self-regulation. Hence, in Sweden the right to strike is utmost extensive during the period of bargaining, but ceases once a collective agreement is in place. Additionally, collective agreements have several other legal effects, and individual employment contracts are interpreted as a part of the system. The research analyses how the private international law issues of jurisdiction, choice of law, application of substantive law in international relations and treatment of foreign judgments affect the Swedish model. The general conclusion in the dissertation is that EU private international law is based on individualism while the Swedish model is based on collectivism. This conflict of basic ideas creates several legal problems which are addressed in the thesis