Right to Strike under ILO Convention No. 87

International Court of Justice opinion (2023)

  • President Joan Donoghue
  • Vice President Kirill Gevorgian
  • Judge Abdulqawi Yusuf
  • Judge Xue Hanqin
  • Judge Julia Sebutinde
  • Judge Dalveer Bhandari
  • Judge Nawaf Salam
  • Judge Yuji Iwasawa
  • Judge Georg Nolte
  • Judge Hilary Charlesworth
  • Judge Leonardo Nemer Caldeira Brant

The Right to Strike under ILO Convention No. 87 is a pending case before the International Court of Justice brought by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in November 2023.

Background

Starting in 2012, employer representatives refused to recognize the right to strike as a corollary of the right to collective bargaining, as codified in International Labour Convention 98.[1][2] This refusal led to the ILO's supervisory functions, in particular the Committee of Experts, ceasing to operate properly for more than a decade. As the ILO's tripartite constituents (governments, employers and trade unions) were unable to resolve how to interpret the right to strike, the governing body voted to seek the opinion of the ICJ. Article 37 of the ILO's constitution provides for this mechanism when conventions are in dispute.[3]

As of June 2024, 31 submissions had been received concerning the case.[4]

References

  1. ^ Vogt, Jeffrey S (2 January 2016). "The Right to Strike and the International Labour Organisation (ILO)". King's Law Journal. 27 (1): 110–131. doi:10.1080/09615768.2016.1148297. ISSN 0961-5768.
  2. ^ "ILO refers dispute on the right to strike to the International Court of Justice | International Labour Organization". www.ilo.org. 11 November 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  3. ^ "ILO to refer dispute over right to strike to International Court of Justice". Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. 12 November 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  4. ^ "ICJ announces 31 written statements filed in right to strike case". www.jurist.org. 19 June 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.