ILO receives International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Convention No. 87 and the right to strike

GENEVA (ILO News) - The International Labour Office (the secretariat of the International Labour Organization) has received the Advisory Opinion delivered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning the interpretation of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87), in relation to the right to strike.

The ILO Governing Body (the Executive Body of the Organization) is expected to consider the matter at its 358th session in November, including any follow-up.

The matter concerns a long-standing difference of views as to whether the right to strike of workers and their organizations is protected under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87).

At its 349th bis (Special) Session on 10 November 2023, the Governing Body decided to refer the question of interpretation to the ICJ under article 37(1) of the ILO Constitution, following a request submitted by the Workers' Group and supported by 36 governments.

Under the ILO Constitution, the International Court of Justice is the judicial body competent to provide authoritative interpretations of international labour conventions. Recourse to the Court for this purpose is exceptionally rare in the history of the Organization. This was only the second such referral in the ILO's history. The first request was made in 1932 to the Permanent Court of International Justice, the predecessor of the ICJ, concerning the interpretation of the Night Work (Women) Convention, 1919 (No. 4).