Labor Unions Celebrate World Court's Ruling That Enshrines the Right to Strike

The right to strike is restricted or forbidden in most countries worldwide, including the United States. The International Court of Justice issued a 43-page advisory opinion on May 21 finding that the right to strike is protected under ILO Convention No. 87. The ILO is a UN agency that sets global labor standards and treats Convention No. 87 as one of its fundamental conventions. In 2023 the ILO asked the ICJ to resolve whether Convention No. 87 includes a right to strike, since the convention does not explicitly mention strikes. Although advisory opinions are not legally binding, many courts treat them as authoritative. The ICJ concluded that strikes are key tools used by workers’ organizations to promote interests and improve labor conditions, supporting effective freedom of association.

"The right to strike is under attack throughout the world, including in the United States. Labor strikes are currently forbidden or restricted in the majority of countries. Now, in a landmark 43-page advisory opinion issued May 21, the International Court of Justice (ICJ, or World Court) has determined that the right to strike is protected under the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise."

"At a moment when workers' organizations face sustained attacks around the world, this opinion reaffirms that the freedom to withhold one's labor is not a privilege granted by the powerful, but a fundamental human right grounded in international law,"

"In 2023, the ILO asked the ICJ to settle an internal dispute about whether Convention No. 87 gives workers the right to strike, which is not specifically addressed in the convention. Although advisory opinions of the ICJ are not legally binding, many courts accept them as authoritative legal decisions."

"The ICJ ruled in its 10-4 opinion that a strike "is one of the main activities engaged in and tools used by workers and their organizations to promote their interests and improve conditions of labour, thereby ensuring the effective exercise of the freedom of association protected under Convention No. 87.""

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