Category: The COI report is published and actions are required

Once the Governing Body acts on a complaint lodged by Employers’ or Workers’ delegates to the International Labour Conference, these same delegates play no further role in the procedure. Employers’ and workers’ organizations having consultative status with the ILO may be invited by the COI to present information in relation to the work and report of a COI. The Employers’ and Workers’ groups in the Governing Body continue to inform the work of the Governing Body as constituents. A government that has initiated a complaint may refer it to the ICJ, but the ILO Constitution does not give complainant delegates the opportunity to refer their complaint to the ICJ.

Both the complainant government and the government against which the complaint has been lodged may propose to refer the complaint to the ICJ.

No government has ever referred a complaint investigated by a COI to the ICJ. Ultimately and at different paces, all governments against which complaints have been made have moved to implement recommendations.

Once the Governing Body acts on a complaint lodged by Employers’ or Workers’ delegates to the International Labour Conference, these same delegates play no further role in the procedure. Employers’ and workers’ organizations having consultative status with the ILO may be invited by the COI to present information in relation to the work and report of a COI. The Employers’ and Workers’ groups in the Governing Body continue to inform the work of the Governing Body as constituents. A government that has initiated a complaint may refer it to the ICJ, but the ILO Constitution does not give complainant delegates the opportunity to refer their complaint to the ICJ.

The report of a COI is communicated by the Office, which has acted as its secretariat, to the Governing Body, which takes note of it, and to the government concerned. Once published in the Official Bulletin, the report is made available in hard copy and on the ILO website.

The report contains the recommendations by the COI and the timeframe for their implementation.

As prescribed in article 29 of the ILO Constitution, within three months the government concerned informs the Director-General whether or not it accepts the recommendations contained in the report of the COI, and if not, whether it proposes to refer the complaint to the ICJ.

Implementation of recommendations by a COI is followed up through regular supervision by the CEACR and the CAS. Click to see the regular supervisory procedure.