During
the first years of ILO’s existence, international labour standards were
adopted and regular supervisory activities carried out each year during the
plenary meetings of the International Labour Conference (ILC). The rapidly
growing number of ratifications soon led, however, to a concomitant rise in
the number of annual reports submitted. It became clear before long that
the Conference plenary would no longer be able to examine all the reports,
adopt new standards and deliberate other key matters. In 1926, the 8
th
Session of the ILC therefore adopted a resolution establishing an annual
Conference committee (subsequently called the
Conference
Committee on the Application of Standards) and asked the Governing Body
to appoint a technical committee (subsequently called the
Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations).
The two committees would become the pillars of ILO’s supervisory system.
The Committee of Experts is an independent body made up of jurists appointed
by ILO’s Governing Body. Its mission is to examine the application of ILO
conventions and recommendations by the
Member States.
The experts come from different geographical regions, legal
systems and cultures. The Committee meets each year in November and
December. Its task is to indicate to what extent the legislation and
practice of each Member State conform to the conventions it has ratified
and to what degree the
Member
State discharges the
obligations incumbent on it by virtue of the ILO Constitution. In
accomplishing that task, the Committee adheres to the principles of
independence, objectivity and impartiality.
The Conference Committee on the Application of Standards is one of the
ILC’s standing committees. It is tripartite and as such comprises
government, employer and worker representatives. At each session, the
Committee elects a bureau made up of a chairperson (a government member),
two vice-chairpersons (employer member and worker member) and a rapporteur
(government member). The Committee meets ever year during the June session
of the ILC. Its deliberations focus on:
- the General Report and General Survey
of the Committee of Experts;
- grave breaches by the Member States of
their obligation to report or other obligations relating to the
standards;
- individual cases involving the
application of ratified conventions on which the Committee of Experts
has made observations.
