On 26 February 2016, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a decision recognizing the special status of trade unions and the importance of workers´ collective rights in the American in Advisory Opinion OC-22. The case was initiated by the Republic of Panama, which requested an advisory opinion pursuant to Article 64 of the American Convention on Human Rights on the interpretation and scope of Article 1 (2) in relation to several other articles in the Convention. Article 1 of the Convention refers to the rights and freedoms of “persona”. Article 1 (2) clarifies that “for the purposes of this Convention, ʻpersonʼ means every human being.” The heart of the inquiry was whether nonhuman or legal entitles, including trade unions and corporations, meet the definition of person as referenced in Article 1 (2) and whether they have standing before the Court on their own behalf or on behalf of members or natural persons. The Court ruled that trade unions have standing on their own behalf but with the limitations based on the specific language of the Protocol of San Salvador, and that corporations do not have direct access to their Inter-American system.
Keywords:
Person, trade unions, corporations, to access to the Inter-American system, American Convention on Human Rights.
Author Biography
Angela B. Cornell, Cornell University Law School, Ithaca, New York
Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Cornell Law School Labor Law Clinic, Cornell University Law School, Ithaca, New York.
Cornell, A. B. (2017). Inter-American Court recognizes elevated status of trade unions and rejects standing of corporations. Revista Chilena De Derecho Del Trabajo Y De La Seguridad Social, 8(15), 201–206. https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-7551.2017.47393
