Centre for Comparative Labour and Social Security Law
COMPTRASEC’s main objective is to foster comparative research in the field of labour law, labour relations, social protection and demography.
The Centre for Comparative Labour and Social Security Law (COMPTRASEC) was founded in 1982 by specialists in social law.
In 2011, the team was joined by professors and researchers in population studies from the Bordeaux University Demographic Studies Institute (IEDUB) created in 1948. The centre is now part of Bordeaux University, Pessac. It is a joint Research Unit operated by the University and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS – National Scientific Research Centre).
COMPTRASEC belongs to the Association Française de Droit du Travail (AFDT) and to the DIM Gestes (Groupe d’études sur le Travail). The Research Unit works in close collaboration with the INED (National Institute for Demographic Studies). The centre belongs to the Labour Law Research Network (LLRN), is partner of Interuniversity Research Centre on Globalization and Work (CRIMT) and maintains privileged relations with many key institutions, including the International Labour Organization, the European Commission, the French ministries in charge of research, employment, and social affairs, the Conseil Régional Nouvelle Aquitaine (New Aquitaine Regional Council) and the Conseil général de la Gironde.
COMPTRASEC is a partner of the Laboratory of Excellence in “Individuals, Populations and Societies (iPOPs)” and develops research programmes a partner of l’EUR Réseau Universitaire de Recherche en Démographie et sciences de la population (Redpop). It is actively involved in European and international research networks and cooperation with other university centres of excellence.
The COMPTRASEC scientific project consists in capturing and analysing the forces, phenomena and dynamics that are currently at play in the social state defined as the legal-political framework which has, over the last century, created the conditions of a social citizenship that sits alongside political citizenship. This project is focused on two lines of research:
- a “Work, employment and normative issues” line of research, which encompasses work on the future of salaried employment and transformations in labour law;
- a “Social risks, solidarity and responsibilities” line research which aggregates work on the new challenges in social protection and the distribution of responsibilities in the face of the health and environmental risks linked to productive activities.
Courses include four Master II diplomas: “Comparative Labour Law”, “Employment Law and Social Relations”, “Corporate Labour Law,” and “Labour and Social Protection Law”, the COMPTRASEC also organises research seminars, comparative law and demography study days, and international symposia. COMPTRASEC publishes the three-monthly “Comparative Labour and Social Security Law Journal” in French and publishes an online English-language version annually, and belongs to the International Association of Labour law Journals – IALLJ.