Rules of the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization
I. ORGANIZATION
Article 1
1. The Tribunal shall elect a President and a Vice-President.
2. Election shall be by vote of the majority of its members, any who cannot attend for the purpose being entitled to vote by correspondence.
3. The President shall direct its proceedings and represent it in all administrative matters.
4. If the President is unable to act, the Vice-President or, if the Vice-President is unable to act, the senior judge shall exercise the functions of President at and between sessions.
5. The President may delegate some of her or his powers to the Vice-President.
Article 2
The Tribunal shall have a Registry led by a Registrar. The Registrar and the officials of the Registry are appointed by the Director-General of the International Labour Office. The Registrar designates the official who can act in her or his place during her or his absence.
Article 3
1. The Tribunal shall hold sessions whenever the caseload so warrants.
2. The President shall set and may amend the dates of each session of the Tribunal and shall invite members to attend for such period as she or he determines.
II. PROCEDURE
Article 4
1. A complaint filed against an organization which has recognized the jurisdiction of the Tribunal and any communication relating to such complaint as well as any application for review, interpretation or execution shall be addressed to the President through the Registrar.
2. For the purpose of determining whether the time limits in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article VII of the Statute have been complied with, the Tribunal shall take into account the date of filing of the complaint at the Registry or the date of dispatch, provided that in the event of doubt about the date of dispatch it shall take into account the date of receipt at the Registry.
3. For the purposes of Article VII, paragraph 3, of the Statute:
(a) a "claim" shall mean a request submitted to the organization relating to the terms of appointment or provisions of the Staff Regulations as are applicable to the case;
(b) where an organization takes any action to deal with a claim before the expiry of the prescribed sixty-day period, including by forwarding the claim to the competent authority, this step in itself constitutes a decision upon the claim which forestalls an implied rejection that could be referred to the Tribunal.
4. The Tribunal can make special arrangements for electronic filing. Where electronic filing is authorized, the Tribunal shall take into account the date on which the electronic submission was received by the Registry for the purpose of determining whether the time limits in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article VII of the Statute have been complied with.
Article 5
1. The complainant may plead her or his own case or appoint for the purpose a representative who shall be a serving or former official of an organization which has recognized the Tribunal's jurisdiction or of the United Nations, or a member of a bar in a Member State of one of those organizations, or, with leave from the President, someone who is qualified to deal with issues relating to the international civil service.
2. The complainant's representative shall provide, in English or French, a power of attorney.
3. The defendant organization's representative shall be one of its own serving or former officials, or a serving or former official of another organization which has recognized the Tribunal's jurisdiction or of the United Nations, or a member of a bar in a Member State of one of those organizations, or, with leave from the President, someone who is qualified to deal with issues relating to the international civil service.
4. Where the defendant organization's representative is not a serving or former official, it shall provide, in English or French, a power of attorney.
Article 6
1. The complainant or the complainant's representative shall:
(a) complete in English or French and sign the complaint form available on the Tribunal's website or upon request from the Registry;
(b) append thereto a brief in the same language stating the facts of the case and the pleas and satisfying the formal requirements set out in Annex 1, as well as the original or a certified copy or transcript of any item of evidence adduced in support;
(c) append to any text which is not in English or French a certified translation into the language chosen in accordance with (a); and
(d) supply five copies of the complaint form, the brief and any appended item of evidence. The items of evidence shall be numbered sequentially and be separately identified by means of tags, dividers or any other similar method.
2. If not satisfied that the complaint meets the requirements of these Rules, the Registrar shall call upon the complainant or the complainant's representative to correct it within thirty days and may where appropriate return the papers for the purpose.
3. If satisfied that the complaint meets the requirements of these Rules, the Registrar shall forward one copy to the defendant organization.
4. The language chosen in accordance with paragraph 1(a) shall be used in any subsequent written pleadings.
5. The above procedure shall also apply to applications for review, interpretation or execution of a judgment for which specific forms are available on the Tribunal's website or can be provided, upon request, by the Registry.
For the purposes of these Rules:
- an application for review shall be admissible only if it is grounded on a failure to take account of material facts, a material error, namely a mistaken finding of fact involving no exercise of judgement, an omission to rule on a claim, or the discovery of new facts on which the complainant was unable to rely in the original proceedings. Such an application must be made within ninety days following the public delivery of the judgment. The President may, upon request, extend or reopen this time limit;
- an application for interpretation can only concern the decision contained in a judgment and not the grounds therefor, unless the decision itself refers to them explicitly so that they are indirectly incorporated in it.
Article 7
1. If the President considers a complaint or an application for review, interpretation or execution to be clearly outside the Tribunal's competence, clearly irreceivable or clearly devoid of merit, she or he may instruct the Registrar to forward it to the defendant organization for information only.
2. Before making an assessment in accordance with paragraph 1, the President may request either the complainant or the organization concerned to provide documentary or other evidence addressing the issue of competence, receivability or merits.
3. When it takes up such a complaint or application, the Tribunal may either dismiss it summarily as being clearly outside its competence, clearly irreceivable or clearly devoid of merit, or decide that the procedure prescribed below shall be followed.
Article 7A
If the dispute regards only a question (or questions) of law, identified by agreement of both parties, and the main facts are uncontested, the parties may agree, at any time prior to the assignment of the complaint to a Tribunal session, to apply to the President of the Tribunal for a fast-track procedure. The parties must submit their pleadings as prescribed in Articles 6, 8 and 9 of these Rules, and in accordance with Article VII of the Statute and the additional provisions set forth in Annex 2 to these Rules. All pleadings shall be brief and shall focus on the agreed contested question(s) of law and on the consequent remedies, and include the succinct statement of the reason(s) supporting the opinion(s) advanced.
Attachments to the application(s) shall be limited to documents directly related to the question(s) of law.
Article 7B
1. A complainant or intervener who wishes to request anonymity may do so at the time when the complaint or application to intervene is filed. The reasons for this request must be specified.
2. The request for anonymity shall be forwarded to the defendant organization for comment within a period of time to be determined by the President of the Tribunal.
3. The President may grant a request for anonymity where disclosure of the identity of the complainant or intervener in a judgment is likely to be seriously prejudicial to that person’s interests.
Article 8
1. In any case which is not dealt with in accordance with Articles 7(1) and 7A of these Rules, the defendant organization shall dispatch its reply, satisfying the formal requirements set out in Annex 1, to the Registrar within thirty days of the date of receipt of the complaint.
2. The President may, at the request of the defendant organization, authorize the filing of a common reply on identical or similar complaints filed against it.
3. The defendant organization shall:
(a) append to its reply the original or a certified copy or transcript of any item of evidence adduced in support;
(b) append to any text which is not in English or French a certified translation into the language chosen in accordance with Article 6(1)(a) of these Rules; and
(c) supply five copies of its reply and of any appended item of evidence. The items of evidence submitted shall be numbered sequentially and be separately identified by means of tags, dividers or any similar method.4. If the defendant organization files no reply within the time limit, the written pleadings shall close.
Article 9
1. If satisfied that the defendant organization's reply meets the requirements of these Rules, including the formal requirements set out in Annex 1, the Registrar shall forward one copy to the complainant or to the complainant's representative, who may file a rejoinder within thirty days of the date of receipt of the reply.
2. If no rejoinder is filed within the time limit, the written pleadings shall close.
3. If a rejoinder is filed, the Registrar shall forward one copy to the defendant organization, which may file a surrejoinder within thirty days of the date of receipt of the rejoinder. The rejoinder and surrejoinder must satisfy the formal requirements set out in Annex 1, and the items of evidence submitted shall be numbered sequentially and be separately identified by means of tags, dividers or any similar method.
4. If no surrejoinder is filed within the time limit, the written pleadings shall close.
5. If a surrejoinder is filed, the Registrar shall forward one copy to the complainant or to the complainant's representative.
6. The President may, on her or his own motion or on the application of either party, order or authorize the submission of a further written statement or document and may set the time limit for such submission.
7. The complainant or her or his representative shall supply with the rejoinder and with any further written statement or document, and the defendant organization shall supply with the surrejoinder and with any further written statement or document:
(a) a certified translation into the language chosen in accordance with Article 6(1)(a) of these Rules of any text which is not in English or French; and
(b) five certified copies of all submissions.
Article 10
1. When the President considers the pleadings to be sufficient, she or he shall instruct the Registrar to put the complaint on the list of a session of the Tribunal.
2. The Registrar shall inform the parties before the opening of that session of the inclusion of the complaint in the list and of the dates of the session.
3. After the opening of the session, the President may decide to add a complaint to the list of that session. The parties shall be informed accordingly.
4. The President shall decide on an application by either party for a stay of proceedings or an application for the adjournment of a listed case to a later session.
III. OTHER MATTERS
Article 11
The President may, on her or his own motion or on the application of either party, order such measures of investigation as she or he deems fit, including the disclosure of documents, the appearance of the parties before the Tribunal, the hearing of expert and other witnesses, the consultation of any competent international authority, an expert inquiry, and the filing of an amicus curiae brief.
Article 12
1. An application by either party for hearings shall identify any witness whom that party wants the Tribunal to hear and the issues which the party wants the witness to address.
2. The Tribunal shall determine the conduct of any hearings.
3. Hearings shall include oral submissions by the parties and may, with leave from the Tribunal, include oral testimony by any witness.
4. A witness shall make the following declaration before giving evidence:
"I solemnly declare that I shall speak without hatred and without fear, and shall speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
5. An expert witness shall make the same declaration as any other witness and shall then make the following further declaration:
"I solemnly declare that I shall give evidence to the best of my knowledge and belief."
Article 13
1. Anyone to whom the Tribunal is open under Article II of the Statute may apply to intervene in a complaint requesting that the Tribunal's ruling on the complaint apply to them. The application must set out the basis on which the intervener considers that she or he is in a situation in fact and in law similar to that of the complainant.
To be receivable, an application to intervene shall be sent to the Registry no later than sixty days following the date on which the organization's reply to the complaint is received by the complainant.
2. The President may authorize an organization which has recognized the Tribunal's jurisdiction to enter submissions regarding a complaint filed against another organization on the grounds that the ruling which the Tribunal is to make may affect it.
3. The President may instruct the Registrar to inform a third party of the existence of a complaint or any issue raised therein if it appears to the President that such third party may have a direct interest in submitting observations regarding that complaint or part thereof.
Article 14
The President may shorten or extend any time limit set in accordance with these Rules or may, in exceptional cases, reopen a time limit which has expired and set a new one.
Article 15
The President may make provisional orders, without prejudice to the ultimate ruling by the Tribunal on the parties' rights, on an application by either party for measures to establish the existence of any fact that is material to the dispute.
Article 16
The President may, by means of an Order, record the withdrawal of a complaint after giving the opposing party an opportunity to comment on the request to withdraw.
Article 17
The Tribunal shall, in exercise of the powers vested in it by Article X of the Statute, deal with any matter which these Rules do not expressly provide for.
Article 18
These Rules shall come into force on 1 May 1994.
Written submissions of the parties must comply with the following requirements:
- use of Times New Roman, font 12;
- line spacing of 1.5 lines;
- A4 page with normal margins.
Unless a prior authorization of the President is granted in exceptional circumstances, the complaint brief and the defendant's reply must not exceed 25 pages; the rejoinder and the surrejoinder must not exceed 10 pages.
The Registry will reject and return for correction to the party concerned any written submissions that do not comply with these formal requirements.
ANNEX 2
The additional provisions referred to in Article 7A of these Rules are as follows:
1. (a) If the complainant wishes to apply for a fast-track procedure, she or he may do so within thirty days of the notification of the impugned decision (or within thirty days as from the expiry of the sixty-day time limit of Article VII, paragraph 3, of the Statute) by sending to the Registrar a fully completed complaint form and indicating in section 5 (“Special Applications”) under the heading “Fast-track Procedure” the question(s) of law which the complainant proposes to submit to the Tribunal for a decision under this procedure.The Registrar shall forward a copy of this submission to the defendant organization which shall notify the Registrar in writing within thirty days of receipt whether it accepts or declines the proposal.
(b) If the defendant organization rejects the proposal, the Registrar shall notify the complainant that the regular procedure shall be followed and instruct her or him to submit a full complaint, in accordance with Article 6 of these Rules, within sixty days from the notification of this rejection.
(c) If the defendant organization accepts the proposal, the Registrar shall instruct the complainant to submit her or his brief under the fast-track procedure within thirty days from the notification of this acceptance. The brief shall include a concise summary of the pertinent facts, the list of supporting documents and any appended item of evidence. The defendant organization shall dispatch its reply to the Registrar within thirty days of the date of receipt of this submission.
2. If a rejoinder and surrejoinder are submitted, Articles 9 and 10 of these Rules shall apply. The submissions shall be succinct and must comply with the provisions of Article 7A of these Rules.
3. If, after receiving a copy of a complaint in accordance with Article 6 of these Rules, the defendant organization wishes to submit a proposal to apply for a fast-track procedure, it may do so by sending a letter to the Registrar within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the complaint. The letter shall contain a proposal identifying the contested question(s) of law, and a concise summary of the facts. The Registrar shall forward a copy of the letter to the complainant who shall notify the Registrar in writing of her or his acceptance or rejection of this proposal within thirty days of its receipt. If the complainant rejects the proposal, the Registrar shall instruct the defendant organization to submit its reply, in accordance with Article 8 of these Rules, within thirty days of the notification of this rejection. If the complainant accepts the proposal, the Registrar shall instruct the defendant organization to submit its reply under the fast-track procedure, in accordance with Article 7A of these Rules, within thirty days of the communication of this acceptance.
4. If, after receiving a copy of the reply or rejoinder in accordance with Article 8 or 9 of these Rules, a party wishes to submit a proposal to apply for a fast-track procedure, they shall do so within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the reply or rejoinder by sending a letter to the Registrar. The letter shall contain the proposal for agreement on the identification of the contested question(s) of law, and on the consequent remedies, and a concise summary of the facts. The Registrar shall forward a copy of the letter to the other party who shall accept or reject this proposal within thirty days of receipt by notifying the Registrar in writing. If the other party rejects the proposal, the Registrar shall notify the requesting party to submit its rejoinder or surrejoinder, in accordance with Article 9 of these Rules, within thirty days of the notification of the non-acceptance of the proposal. If the other party accepts the proposal, the Registrar shall notify the requesting party to submit its fast-track procedure rejoinder or surrejoinder, in accordance with Article 7A of these Rules within thirty days of the notification of the acceptance of the proposal.
5. Parties who have already concluded their pleadings in accordance with these Rules, but whose case has not yet been included on the list of a session of the Tribunal, may apply for a fast-track procedure by submitting a letter to the Registrar, specifying that they have a case pending. The letter shall contain the agreement (or the proposal for agreement) on the identification of the contested question(s) of law, and a concise summary of the facts. If both parties agree to the application for a fast-track procedure, they must then each submit a summary of their pleadings. The pleadings shall be brief and shall focus on the agreed contested question(s) of law and on the consequent remedies, and include the succinct reason(s) supporting the opinions advanced. Attachments to the applications shall be limited to documents which directly relate to the contested question(s) of law. Their prior submissions shall be replaced by the summarized fast-track procedure submissions.6. If the Registrar considers that the requirements for the fast-track procedure have been fulfilled, she or he shall forward the complaint to the President for approval. If the approval is given, the complaint shall be given priority and, if possible, be put on the list for the next session of the Tribunal. The Tribunal shall render a succinct decision under this fast-track procedure.