Lyn K Tjon Soei Len - Minimum Contract Justice: A Capabilities Perspective on Sweatshops and Consumer Contracts

MINIMUM CONTRACT JUSTICE

The collapse of the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh (2013) is one of many cases to invoke critical scrutiny and moral outrage regarding the conditions under which consumer goods sold on our markets are produced elsewhere. In spite of abiding moral concerns, these goods remain popular and consumers continue to buy them. Such transactions for goods made under deplorable production conditions are usually presumed to count as normal market transactions, ie transactions that are recognized as valid consumer-contracts under the rules of contract law.

This book challenges this presumption of normality. It explores the question of how theories of justice bear on such consumer contracts; how should a society treat a transaction for a good made under deplorable conditions elsewhere? This book defends the position that a society that strives to be minimally just should not lend its power to enforce, support, or encourage transactions that are incompatible with the ability of others elsewhere to live decent human lives. As such, the book introduces a new perspective on the legal debate concerning deplorable production conditions that has settled around ideas of corporate responsibility, and the pursuit of international labour rights.

Minimum Contract Justice:
A Capabilities Perspective on
Sweatshops and Consumer
Contracts

Lyn K L Tjon Soei Len

OXFORD AND PORTLAND, OREGON
2017

Hart Publishing

An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

www.hartpub.co.uk
www.bloomsbury.com

Published in North America (US and Canada) by
Hart Publishing
c/o International Specialized Book Services
920 NE 58th Avenue, Suite 300
Portland, OR 97213-3786
USA

www.isbs.com

HART PUBLISHING, the Hart/Stag logo, BLOOMSBURY and the
Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

First published 2017

Lyn K L Tjon Soei Len 2017

The Author has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
to be identified as Author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system,
without prior permission in writing from the publishers.

While every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of this work, no responsibility for loss or damage occasioned
to any person acting or refraining from action as a result of any statement in it can be accepted by the authors,
editors or publishers.

All UK Government legislation and other public sector information used in the work is Crown Copyright .
All House of Lords and House of Commons information used in the work is Parliamentary Copyright . This
information is reused under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
doc/open-government-licence/version/3) except where otherwise stated.

All Eur-lex material used in the work is European Union, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/, 19982017.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN:HB:978-1-78225-709-7

ePDF:978-1-78225-711-0

ePub:978-1-78225-710-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Tjon Soei Len, Lyn K.L. (Lyn Kim Lan), 1984

Title: Minimum contract justice : a capabilities perspective on sweatshops and consumer contracts /
Lyn K L Tjon Soei Len.

Description: Oxford ; Portland, Oregon : Hart Publishing, An imprint of
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016054442 (print) | LCCN 2016055157 (ebook) | ISBN 9781782257097
(hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781782257103 (Epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Foreign trade regulationMoral and ethical aspectsEurope. | Offshore assembly
industryLaw and legislationMoral and ethical aspectsEurope. | Consumer goodsLaw and
legislationMoral and ethical aspectsEurope. | Immoral contractsEurope. | Law and
globalizationLaw and legislationMoral and ethical aspectsEurope.

Classification: LCC KJC6791 .T58 2017 (print) | LCC KJC6791 (ebook) | DDC 343.408/7dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016054442

Typeset by Compuscript Ltd, Shannon

To find out more about our authors and books visit www.hartpublishing.co.uk. Here you will find extracts,
author information, details of forthcoming events and the option to sign up for our newsletters.

Very many people have helped to make this book possible. I owe a tremendous debt to all who have offered me their support, given me a sense of belonging and possibility, and a sense of home in academia and the world.

I would like to specially thank several people and institutions, while asking for the forgiveness of those I might unintentionally omit to acknowledge.

I like to thank Martijn Hesselink for his steadfast confidence in me, and for creating and inviting me to my first academic home. It is there that I met so many of the friends and colleagues who are the foundation of the academic community for which I am so grateful. I like to express my sincere gratitude to those who have given me advice, helpful comments, and excellent suggestions that have made this book better than it would have been otherwise: Chantal Mak, Hugh Collins, Aurelia Colombi Ciacchi, Aukje van Hoek, Anna Veneziano, Jeroen Kortmann, and Ton Hol. I am especially grateful to Aditi Bagchi for her friendship, dedication of time to read the manuscript, and insightful comments. Likewise, I am especially thankful to Hanoch Dagan for his kindness in reading and commenting on my work. I also like to thank Daniela Caruso, Franz Werro, and Muriel Fabre-Magnan for showing encouraging interest in my work and offering their academic support.

Alongside experiencing thoughtful exchanges with international scholars, I have received generous support from various institutions. In particular, I like to thank the following institutions and audiences: the Centre for the Study of European Contract Law, the Amsterdam Law School of the University of Amsterdam, the University of Chicago Law School, the Forum Scientiarum of the University of Tbingen, the Institute for Advanced Study in Nantes, Harvard Law School, and the University of New Hampshire.

I also like to thank Yvonne ter Horst for years of wonderful collaboration. Additionally, I wish to express my appreciation to both Bill Asquith, my editor at Hart Publishing, and Victoria Broom, for copyediting the manuscript. Also, I must thank my (former) colleagues at the Amsterdam Law School, particularly Anniek de Ruijter, Stephan Hollenberg, Joasia Luzak, Jaap Baaij, Dewi Hamwijk, and Jaap Barneveld for their friendship. And my sincere gratitude is owed to my colleagues at the University of New Hampshire. Of these, a particular note of thanks is due to Marla Brettschneider and Julia Pond, without whom I could not have finished this work.

Finally, I am grateful for the love and support of my family: Liesbeth Bergman; Robert and Lian Tjon Soei Len; Taco, May Li, and Qilan Houwert; Astrid Helstone; and Laurel, Winston A., and Lauren Thompson. I am thankful for the same from my friends Kim Meertins and Eva van Steijn.