The term effectiveness obviously does not derive from legal language per se, but rather legal theoryor sociologyof law. However, law specialists, who attach great importance to words and the concepts behind them, cannot deny that the term has infiltrated legal language itself. Thus, article 13 of the European convention for the protection of human rights speaks of ‘‘effective legal remedies’’; the 1961 European Charter, revised in 1996, mentions the necessity to ensure ‘‘effective application’’ of a law, ...similarly, the concept of ‘‘effectiveness’’ has appeared in European law, stating that a legal instrument – e.g. the directive on European Works Councils – or its individual provisions – must be interpreted specifically in terms of theireffectiveness. Other speakers did not worry whether or not the term effectiveness actually existed in legal language, but rather emphasised that ‘‘however great the gap between the rule of law and social practices, dogmatic lawyers would normally ignore it, focusing their analysis on the norm alone and considering any deviation an offence’’. Debates leading to the adoption of legal norms are generallyonlyof interest to lawyers to the extent that they shed light on their interpretation, while the reality of industrial relations only necessitates their intervention in cases where there is an apparent infringement of existing law. The dogmatic lawyer’s scope of action excludes areas not specifically covered bylaw, unless the issue is to confirm their illegality or determine that they are, in fact, within the scope of positive law (Filali, 2006a). Would it not be true to describe the ineffectiveness of law as a ‘‘fundamental socio-legal fact without which it is impossible to understand, analyse,read, orexplain the state of law’’ (Filali,2006a). For these reasons, legal specialists cannot avoid the issue of the effectiveness of labour law. Some people may feel that this amounts to knowing whether a rule – or set