The Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization held its 130th session from 22 June to 16 July 2020.
At this session, the Tribunal dealt with 106 cases against 19 international organisations (covering 66 complaints filed by 102 complainants) and adopted 58 judgments (including 6 judgments following a summary procedure). The President of the Tribunal also recorded 48 withdrawals of complaints under the newly adopted Article 16 of the Tribunal’s Rules[1].
Owing to the specific circumstances relating to the Covid-19 pandemic, no public session was held in Geneva and the judgments of the 130th Session were delivered on 24 July 2020 by a video-recording.
In his introductory remarks, the President of the Tribunal underlined the challenge that the judges and the Registrar had to overcome to adjust their working methods to the new circumstances, and further indicated that every effort was made to ensure that the Tribunal could continue to function. He added that, although the session had begun with all seven judges participating, the term of office of Judge Yves Kreins had expired on 30 June 2020 and could not be renewed due to the postponement of the ILO Conference until June 2021. Accordingly, the number of Judges for the next sessions will be temporarily reduced from 7 to 6.
The electronic copies of Judgments Nos. 4273 to 4330 are already available on the database Triblex.
The next session of the Tribunal will start, if the circumstances permit, on 19 October 2020.
[1] This new provision reflects the Tribunal’s long-standing practice of accepting withdrawals. It provides that “[t]he President may, by means of an Order, record the withdrawal of a complaint after giving the opposing party an opportunity to comment on the request to withdraw.”
27 July 2020 | Rafaela Choairy