Global Framework Agreements (GFAs) have traditionally been regarded as soft law instruments, lacking legal enforceability and often compared to corporate codes of conduct. This article challenges that perception by applying functional contracting theory, which conceptualizes contracts as serving not only safeguarding but also coordination and adaptation functions. By shifting the focus from legal bindingness to practical functionality, the article argues that GFAs are underutilized tools for preventing adverse human rights impacts in global value chains (GVCs). Drawing on examples from GFAs in the energy sector, it demonstrates how principles of functional contracting can enhance GFAs’ preventive, adaptive, and coordinative capacities, particularly when integrated with emerging legal frameworks such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and the Omnibus proposal. The article further explores how extra-judicial enforcement mechanisms, including mediation and arbitration, can strengthen GFAs without undermining their cooperative nature. Ultimately, it concludes that GFAs, while not contracts in the traditional sense, can be recast as proactive and effective instruments of transnational labour governance and human rights protection within GVCs.
International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations