Access to Justice in the Context of Social Inequalities

KOAMI is currently involved in a proposal to the German Research Foundation DFG [ https://www.dfg.de]. This is an overall project under the coordination of the Social Science Research Center Berlin [ https://www.wzb.eu/de], which uses several sub-projects from higher education institutions in Germany, Austria and Switzerland to research how social inequalities influence access to justice and the enforcement of rights.

The overarching project focuses on the differences between formal legal entitlements and their actual implementation in practice. Through interdisciplinary research, the project analyzes which social, institutional and legal factors promote or hinder access to justice. At the same time, social science legal research in German-speaking countries is to be strengthened.

Fortunately, the overall project overcame the first hurdle in spring 2026. KOAMI has been invited to submit a full proposal together with the other participating higher education institutions and present it to the review panel in Berlin at the end of 2026.

Collaborations with Gesine Fuchs from HSLU

Our sub-project will be submitted and supervised by Dr. Nic Frei and Prof. Dr. Gesine Fuchs from the higher education institution Lucerne [ https://www.hslu.ch/de-ch/hochschule-luzern/ueber-uns/personensuche/profile/?pid=3203 ].

What is our sub-project about?

Our sub-project examines access to justice and the legal mobilization of female employees in the Swiss labour market. The focus is on the question of how certain mechanisms and institutional regulations of Swiss collective labor law can contribute to the effective enforcement of individual rights and strengthen access to justice. Legal mobilization is understood as an expression of functioning access to justice and includes not only judicial procedures but also informal or rhetorical forms of law enforcement.

The project builds on older research on CLAs and social partnership institutions and links these with current developments in the world of work. In particular, it examines whether collective labor law instruments are suitable for reducing social inequalities and improving access to justice.

The social partnership is a central component of the Swiss political system. Negotiations and compromises between employers and employees have traditionally characterized industrial relations. At the same time, the labor markets are increasingly changing: flexible and atypical forms of employment such as part-time work, work on demand or temporary work are on the rise. These developments often lead to precarious employment relationships in which economics risks are transferred to employees without adequate legal or social protection being passed on. Weakly organized sectors with little union representation are particularly affected.

Against this backdrop, the project analyses collective legal instruments such as class actions or collective enforcement mechanisms that enable the relevant actors to assert rights and also support non-unionized employees. The focus here is on the tension between formal law ("law in the books") and its actual implementation in practice ("law in action"). It examines the extent to which collective law enforcement can help to balance out structural power imbalances in the labor market and strengthen the practical effectiveness of labor law protection rights.

Commentary on the Co-Determination Act (MitwG), published by Stämpfli-Verlag in July 2025.

Commentary on the Federal Act on the General Binding Nature of Collective Employment Agreements (AVEG), to be published by Stämpfli Verlag in 2027

As part of the Collective Labor Law course, students are confronted with this fascinating and important area of law, deal intensively with a specific CLA and conduct interviews with the respective social partners.