The case stems from a 2023 request by the Governing Physique of the Worldwide Labour Group (ILO), which requested the Courtroom for an advisory opinion on whether or not the Freedom of Affiliation and Safety of the Proper to Organise Conference, 1948 (No. 87) contains the proper to strike.
Adopted within the aftermath of World Conflict Two, Conference 87 is a cornerstone of worldwide labour legislation, guaranteeing employees and employers the proper to type and be part of organizations of their selecting. It doesn’t explicitly point out strikes, however advocates have lengthy interpreted freedom of affiliation to incorporate that proper.
ICJ President Yūji Iwasawa started Monday’s proceedings by studying the formal query to the judges, referencing the ILO’s decision and the Courtroom’s procedural authority. He famous the “tripartite construction of the ILO, which is comprised of representatives of governments, employers and employees.”
A uncommon request
Tomi Kohiyama, ILO Authorized Adviser, recalled that the ILO had not appeared earlier than the ICJ in a consultative capability since 1932, underscoring the rarity of such requests.
She mentioned the ILO secretariat wouldn’t take a place on topic however would help the Courtroom by clarifying institutional context and interpretative approaches underneath the Vienna Conference on the Regulation of Treaties.
“The participation of organisations of employers and employees … is with out precedent within the historical past of your august establishment,” she added, referring to the ILO’s tripartite nature.
Three voices of ILO
Based in 1919, the ILO is exclusive throughout the UN system for its tripartite construction, bringing collectively representatives of governments, employers and employees to set worldwide labour requirements.
That stability, nevertheless, has typically led to impasse – most notably in 2012, when employer teams challenged whether or not Conventions No. 87 and 98 acknowledge a proper to strike.
The headquarters constructing of the Worldwide Labour Group (ILO) in Geneva.
Arguments from labour and enterprise
Paapa Danquah, talking for the Worldwide Commerce Union Confederation (ITUC), described strikes as a timeless expression of collective motion.
“Strike motion has been our very important software … to enhance labour situations and to defend our human dignities,” he advised the courtroom.
He argued that the proper to strike is inherently a part of freedom of affiliation and thus ought to be acknowledged as protected underneath Conference No. 87.
In distinction, Roberto Suárez Santos, on behalf of the Worldwide Organisation of Employers (IOE), asserted that whereas the proper to strike is just not objectionable in precept, Conference No. 87 neither explicitly nor implicitly covers the proper to strike.
He warned that to learn it into the Conference now would impose a prescriptive regime – defining modalities of strike – that would disrupt nuanced nationwide labour techniques.
He expressed that the right path could be consensus throughout the ILO’s tripartite our bodies, not unilateral judicial elevation of requirements.
ICJ advisory opinions
Over three days of hearings, 21 international locations and organizations are anticipated to take the stand, with 31 written statements already filed within the ICJ Registry – reflecting world curiosity within the end result.
The Courtroom’s advisory opinion, anticipated within the coming months, won’t be legally binding however may profoundly affect worldwide and nationwide labour legislation.
