From the World Court to the Shop Floor: The ICJ Ruling and the Future of the Right to Strike

Despite its status as a foundational tenet of collective labor law, the right to strike currently faces a historic crisis of domestic compliance and backlash. Today, this fundamental protection is actively violated in 87% of countries worldwide. As international crackdowns on organized labor intensify, workers are facing escalating threats of arrest, detention, and even physical violence. The International Trade Union Confederation reports that workers face arrest in roughly 50% surveyed countries, with nearly a third turning to physical violence to suppress union rights.

Against this backdrop of acute worker repression, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) recently handed down a historic advisory opinion, resolving a long-standing international dispute between worker and employer representatives by confirming that the right to strike is protected under international law. But how does a victory at the ICJ translate into concrete protections for workers on the shop floor?

Join us for a panel discussion exploring the future of global labor rights. Whether you are new to international labor law or closely following the jurisprudence, this event will describe the foundational architecture of the International Labour Organization (ILO), explain the dispute that led to this landmark ICJ case, and explore how this decision will ripple out to impact domestic laws, supreme court rulings, and workers’ rights worldwide.

Panelists

Jeffrey Vogt is the Rule of Law Director of the Solidarity Center and co-founder of the International Lawyers Assisting Workers (ILAW) Network. In 2022, he was appointed to the ILO Governing Body and the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association. From 2011 to 2016, he was legal director of the International Trade Union Confederation and, previously, served as the Deputy International Director of the AFL-CIO.

Janice Bellace is Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics, and Professor of Management at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  Since January 2016, she has been the Director of the Tanoto Initiative by which the School, supported by a generous gift from the Tanoto Foundation, seeks through research and teaching to engage faculty and students in business and economic developments in Indonesia and ASEAN.

Paapa Danquah is a lawyer by profession and serves as the Legal Director of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). The ITUC advances and defends workers’ rights in international labour governance institutions and organizations whose activities impact the realization of workers’ rights and interests. He is a passionate advocate for human rights.

Gerry (moderator) is the Director of Harvard Law School’s Human Rights Program, and the J. Sinclair Armstrong Professor of International, Foreign, and Comparative Law at HLS. Neuman teaches courses in international human rights law, immigration and nationality law, and U.S. constitutional law. From 2011 to 2014, he served as a Member of the UN Human Rights Committee. Neuman holds a JD from HLS and a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This event is co-sponsored by The Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World, The Center for Labor and a Just Economy, HLS Advocates for Human Rights, and The Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School.