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GB.274/PFA/14/3
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Programme, Financial and Administrative Committee |
PFA |
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FOURTEENTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA
Matters relating to the ILO Administrative Tribunal
Recognition of the Tribunal's jurisdiction by the
World Trade Organization (WTO)
1. Under its Statute the Administrative Tribunal of the ILO is competent to hear complaints against international organizations which recognize its jurisdiction and Rules of Procedure and have been approved by the Governing Body. The relevant provisions of the Statute (article II, paragraph 5, and the Annex) appear in Appendix I.
2. The Director-General has received the declaration by the World Trade Organization recognizing the jurisdiction of the Administrative Tribunal. By a letter dated 7 January 1999, Mr. Renato Ruggiero, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), informed the Director-General that, in accordance with its constitutional procedures, the WTO had decided to recognize the jurisdiction of the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization. In the same communication, Mr. Ruggiero stated that it would be desirable if the recognition of the jurisdiction of the Tribunal by the WTO could be made effective as from 1 January 1999. The text of that letter is reproduced in Appendix II.
3. The WTO was established on the basis of the Marrakesh Agreement (which marked the end of the Uruguay Round) which was signed on 15 April 1994 and entered into force on 1 January 1995. The WTO has taken over the role of the de facto organization GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) which provided the rules for much of world trade from 1948 to 1994 following the failed attempt to create an International Trade Organization (ITO). The staff of GATT were provided by the ICITO (Interim Committee for the International Trade Organization) which in 1958 recognized the jurisdiction of the Tribunal.(1) ICITO remained the employer of WTO staff for four years (1995-98). By a decision adopted by the WTO General Council and the ICITO Executive Committee on 16 October 1998, ICITO ceased to exist on 31 December 1998.
4. The WTO deals with the elaboration of international trade rules designed to remove obstacles and help the trade flow between nations as freely as possible. Among its aims and functions are the administration of WTO trade agreements, the forum of trade negotiations, the settlement of trade disputes, the monitoring of national trade policies, and technical assistance and training for developing countries. The WTO's principal organs are the Ministerial Conference, which is composed of representatives of Member Governments and has to meet at least once every two years; the General Council, which handles day-to-day work between the ministerial conferences, oversees procedures for settling disputes between members and analyses members' trade policies; and the secretariat, which is mainly responsible for offering administrative and technical support to WTO delegate bodies, providing legal assistance in the settlement of trade disputes involving the interpretation of WTO rules and procedures, and dealing with accession negotiations for new members. The WTO's membership comprises at present 133 States, and its secretariat employs some 500 officials headed by a Director-General and four deputies. Under its constituent instrument, the Organization is accorded by Member States the privileges and immunities necessary for the exercise of its mandate and functions. The Organization concluded on 2 June 1995 a Headquarters Agreement with the Swiss Federal Council recognizing its international legal personality and granting to it and its staff the privileges and immunities normally accorded to intergovernmental organizations.
5. As regards the possible recognition of the Tribunal's jurisdiction with retroactive effect from 1 January 1999, as requested by the Director-General of WTO, the ILO normally accepts declarations of recognition as from the date on which the Governing Body has given its approval. In one case, however, the recognition of the jurisdiction of the Tribunal by the Court and the Surveillance Authority of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) was approved in March 1994 with retroactive effect from 1 January 1994.(2) In the case of WTO, given the fact that its staff had access to the Tribunal until 31 December 1998 as officials of ICITO, retroactive application from 1 January 1999 (date of establishment of the WTO's own secretariat) would ensure the continuity of protection offered to its staff. It is proposed, therefore, that if the Governing Body approves the WTO's declaration of recognition, the Tribunal should have jurisdiction as from 1 January 1999.
6. The Tribunal's jurisdiction under article II, paragraph 5, of its Statute already extends to 37 organizations in addition to the ILO. The recognition of the Tribunal's jurisdiction by other organizations entails no additional cost to the ILO, since the organizations against which complaints are filed are required by the Statute to bear the expenses of sessions and hearings and to pay any award of compensation by the Tribunal. The other organizations also contribute, in amounts proportionate to the number of their staff, to much of the costs of the Tribunal's secretariat.
7. In the light of the above, the Committee may wish to recommend that the Governing Body approve the recognition of the Tribunal's jurisdiction by the World Trade Organization, with effect from 1 January 1999.
Geneva, 3 February 1999.
Point for decision: Paragraph 7.
Excerpts from the Statute of
the ILO Administrative Tribunal
Article II, paragraph 5
The Tribunal shall also be competent to hear complaints alleging non-observance, in substance or in form, of the terms of appointment of officials and of provisions of the Staff Regulations of any other international organization approved by the Governing Body which has addressed to the Director-General a declaration recognizing, in accordance with its Constitution or internal administrative rules, the jurisdiction of the Tribunal for this purpose, as well as its Rules of Procedure.
Annex
The Statute of the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization applies in its entirety to those international intergovernmental organizations which, in accordance with their Constitution or internal administrative rules, recognize the jurisdiction of the Tribunal and formally declare that they adopt its Rules of Procedure in accordance with paragraph 5 of article II of the Statute, subject to the following provisions which, in cases affecting any one of these organizations, are applicable as follows:
Article VI, paragraph 2
The reason for a judgment shall be stated. The judgment shall be communicated in writing to the Director-General of the International Labour Office, to the Director-General of the international organization against which the complaint is filed, and to the complainant.
Article VI, paragraph 3
Judgments shall be drawn up in two copies, of which one shall be filed in the archives of the International Labour Office and the other in the archives of the international organization against which the complaint is filed, where they shall be available for consultation by any person concerned.
Article IX, paragraph 2
Expenses occasioned by the sessions or hearings of the Administrative Tribunal shall be borne by the international organization against which the complaint is filed.
Article IX, paragraph 3
Any compensation awarded by the Tribunal shall be chargeable to the budget of the international organization against which the complaint is filed.
Article XII, paragraph 1
In any case in which the Executive Board of an international organization which has made the declaration specified in article II, paragraph 5, of the Statute of the Tribunal challenges a decision of the Tribunal confirming its jurisdiction, or considers that a decision of the Tribunal is vitiated by a fundamental fault in the procedure followed, the question of the validity of the decision given by the Tribunal shall be submitted by the Executive Board concerned, for an advisory opinion, to the International Court of Justice.
Communication from Mr. Renato Ruggiero,
Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO)
Dear Mr. Director-General,
As you are no doubt aware, the secretariat of the WTO was established on 1 January 1999, with its own Staff Regulations and Rules, and its own pension plan. I attach, for your information, a copy of the decision adopted by the General Council and the ICITO Executive Committee on 16 October 1998 (WT/L/282).
The ICITO (Interim Committee for the International Trade Organization), which was the employer of the WTO staff until 31 December 1998, has therefore ceased to exist. The ICITO had recognized the jurisdiction of the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization (ILOAT).
As required by article II of the Statute of the Tribunal, this letter constitutes the declaration that, as an international intergovernmental organization, the WTO recognizes the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, as well as its Rules of Procedure, in accordance with its "internal administrative rules". For this purpose I refer you to Regulation 12.5 of the WTO Staff Regulations.
1. GB.138/F.A./D.17/6.
2. See GB.259/PFA/13/18 and GB.259/PFA/13/20.