The International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced in a press release on Tuesday that 31 written statements have been filed concerning whether workers have a right to strike under a key International Labor Organization convention.

The written statements follow the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) request for an urgent advisory opinion from the ICJ considering whether the right to strike is protected under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention (1948) No 87.

The dispute concerning whether the right to strike is included within the convention without any express provision addressing the right has been an ongoing question for several years. As outlined by ILO in its dossier to the ICJ, the interpretation controversy led in 2012 to the prevention of the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations to exercise its supervisory functions for the first time as employer groups questioned the Committee’s interpretation.

The ILO describes the dispute as being on the one hand, the absence of any provision which would enshrine the right to strike and that the preparatory work of the convention confirms the intention of drafters to not include a right to strike within its scope. This interpretation is supported in particular by employer groups. On the other hand, the Preamble of the ILO Constitution includes the reference to just labour conditions and recognition of the principle of freedom of association. This interpretation is particularly supported by labour groups and is inclusive of an interpretation that allows the ILO bodies to perform interpretive functions occasionally.

The ILO request for an advisory opinion states that the body is “conscious that there is serious and persistent disagreement,” as this is only the second time the ILO has requested an advisory opinion of an international labour convention and the first time to seize the ICJ.

The ICJ by order has fixed September 16, 2024, as the time limit within which States and organizations that have presented written statements may submit written comments on the other written statements.