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World Court Affirms Right to Strike in Landmark Ruling With Global Implications for Workers and Democracy
Historic ICJ opinion strengthens international protections for workers organizing against unsafe conditions, exploitation, and abuses of power
Washington, DC, May 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The International Lawyers Assisting Workers (ILAW) Network today welcomed the landmark advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) affirming that the right to strike is protected under International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 87 on freedom of association.
The opinion follows a more than decade-long dispute over the existence of the right to strike in international law, first raised by employers at the ILO in 2012. The advisory opinion marks the first time in nearly 100 years that an international court has interpreted an ILO convention, making it one of the most consequential labor rights decisions in modern international law.
“This opinion is an important moment for the International Labour Organization, for its constituents, for the multilateral system, and for the world’s workers,” said Jeffrey Vogt, Rule of Law Director at the Solidarity Center, Chair of the ILAW Network, and co-author of the book, The Right to Strike in International Law.
“The right to strike is one of the most important tools workers have to defend their dignity at work, and to challenge injustice in the workplace and in broader society. The ICJ’s opinion has the potential to protect that right in workplaces around the world,” Vogt said.
The opinion arrives at a moment of acute pressure on the international labour rights system. Across the world, the right to strike is under sustained attack — through restrictive legislation, expansive judicial interpretation of essential services, the criminalization of trade union activity, and the use of dismissals, injunctions, and damages claims to deter collective action. According to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), workers and union organizers increasingly face intimidation, arrests, violence, and retaliation for exercising this right.
Legal advocates say the ruling could strengthen efforts to challenge strike bans, retaliation against union activity, overly broad restrictions on essential services, and attempts to criminalize collective action.
The ILAW Network, a global network of 1,500 labor lawyers and legal advocates representing workers and unions in more than 100 countries, has been deeply involved in the case since the dispute first emerged within the ILO system in 2012.
The Network said the Court’s opinion will serve as a powerful legal tool for lawyers, unions, and workers defending labor rights before national courts, regional human rights bodies, and international institutions worldwide.
The ILAW Network is a global network of labor lawyers, legal advocates and scholars coordinated by the Solidarity Center. ILAW works to strengthen labor rights, support democratic participation and advance justice for workers globally through legal advocacy, research, strategic litigation and cross-border collaboration.
For interviews with Jeffrey Vogt or members of the ILAW legal team, contact:
Jeffrey Vogt Solidarity Center jvogt@solidaritycenter.org
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