WIEGO LEGAL DATABASE ON INFORMAL ECONOMY

People depending on informal economy are often operating in a sort of “legal blank” due to the lack of recognition of regular institutions and their working outside of the formal legal framework covering regular workers.

Moreover, low level of education and income represents a further obstacle for accessing legal services and consequently informal workers are particularly vulnerable in defending their own rights.

To tackle this core issue and support the stakeholders of the informal economy, WIEGO has initiated the development of a dedicated legal database since 2009. It now provides online the Legal Resource Portal (formerly the Law Observatory). It is a useful tool that provides access to legal instruments (laws, treaties, and court decisions) that regulate the informal economy and publications about law and the informal economy. It can be searched through the following items:

• Legal instruments by geographical coverage (international, regional, national, and local);

• Legal instruments by occupational group

• Publications and resources on law and the informal economy

• WIEGO Law Programme Newsletters