The request of the ILO to the CJ for an advisory opinion on the right to strike: A life-saving move?

On 14 November 2023, the International Labour Organization (ILO) requested an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the interpretation of ILO Convention No. 87 with respect to the right to strike. This request is an urgent demand for solving a dispute between the non-governmental constituents of the ILO, on the right to strike, that is blocking the functioning of the Organization, through a pronouncement which is understood to be binding under ILO law. Against this background, the post overviews the legal technicalities of the request, namely its object and legal bases, the specificities of this proceeding before the ICJ, and the legal effects of the Court’s opinion. The Court will have the opportunity to clarify its own role when he functioning of the ILO and its system of standards is threatened by disagreement within its own tripartite constituency and its advanced internal monitoring system.