International Catholic Migration Commission v Calleja
| Jurisdiction | Filipinas |
| Court | Supreme Court (Philippines) |
| Date | 28 September 1990 |
(Melencio-Herrera, Padilla, Sarmiento, Regalado, Judges)
International organizations Immunity Jurisdictional immunity Scope of immunity from legal process Application to Philippine authorities by local trade unions for certification election in order to recruit staff of international organizations Whether certification likely to lead to legal proceedings constituting undue interference in affairs of international organizations Exclusion of jurisdiction of municipal courts over employment disputes Convention on Privileges and Immunities of Specialized Agencies of the United Nations, 1947, Section 31 Requirement for specialized agencies to make provision for settlement of disputes
Human rights Freedom of association Recruitment of members by trade unions Application by local trade unions for right to recruit staff of international organizations Reliance on immunity from local jurisdiction by international organizations in order to block application Whether depriving workers of basic constitutional rights Whether alternative remedies to workers available for settlement of employment disputes
International organizations United Nations Specialized agencies Definition and functions United Nations Charter, 1945, Articles 57 and 63 The law of the Philippines
Summary: The facts:The International Catholic Migration Commission (icmc) was an international organization, accredited to the Philippine Government, rendering humanitarian services in the Philippines, and in particular operating a refugee processing centre there. In 1988, in a memorandum from the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Philippine Government recognized the status of icmc as a specialized agency with corresponding privileges and immunities. The International Rice Research Institute (irri) was established by agreement with the Philippine Government to carry out research into rice production. By Presidential Decree in 1979, the Philippine Government granted to irri the status, privileges and immunities of an international organization. Separate applications by different trade union organizations for certification election (the right to recruit workers) from both icmc and irri were granted by orders issued by the Philippine Bureau of Labor Relations, despite the plea of the international bodies affected that such orders violated their immunity, icmc petitioned the Supreme Court for certiorari. irri appealed to the Secretary for Labor to set aside the order authorizing certification election. The trade union in question petitioned the Supreme Court for certiorari. In each case, the issue was whether or not the grant of diplomatic privileges and immunities to the international bodies in question extended to immunity from the application of Philippine labor laws. Since the two cases raised similar issues, they were joined by the Supreme Court.
Held:The order of the Bureau of Labor Relations granting certification election in the icmc case was set aside. The refusal of the Secretary for Labor to grant certification election in the irri case was upheld.
(1) The Government had clearly recognized the immunity of both icmc and irri. Immunity from local jurisdiction was necessitated by the international character and respective purposes of icmc and irri. The objective was to avoid the danger of partiality and interference by the host country in their internal workings. The exercise of jurisdiction by the Department of Labor in these circumstances would defeat the very purpose of immunity, which was to shield the affairs of international organizations from political pressure or control by the host country to the prejudice of member States of the organization, and to ensure the unhampered performance of their functions. This conclusion was consistent with the designation of certain types of international organizations with functions in particular fields as specialized agencies under the United Nations Charter, 1945 (Articles 57 and 63). The two international bodies in question here clearly came within this category (pp. 1569).
(2) The immunity from local jurisdiction enjoyed by icmc and irri by no means deprived workers of their basic constitutional rights, implemented by the Philippine Labor Code. icmc employees were not without a remedy, whenever there were disputes to be settled. Section 31 of the Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies of the United Nations, 1947, laid down that each specialized agency should make provision for appropriate modes of settlement of disputes arising out of contracts or other disputes of a private character to which the specialized agency was a party. Furthermore, pursuant to Article IV of the Memorandum of Agreement with the Philippine Government, icmc was required to co-operate with the authorities and ensure the observance of Philippine laws as well as preventing any abuses of its privileges and immunities. Any such abuses would entitle the Government to withdraw those privileges and immunities (pp. 15960).
(3) Equally irri employees were not without a remedy in case of a dispute with the management. A council of irri employees and management had been formed for the purpose of maintaining mutual and beneficial cooperation between irri and its employees. It could not therefore be argued that the Presidential Decree granting immunities to irri deprived its employees of the right to self-organization (pp. 1601).
(4) Immunity had been granted to both icmc and irri from any legal or administrative proceedings, subject to express waiver. It was incorrect to argue that certification election was beyond the scope of immunity because it did not involve such proceedings. Certification could give rise to a series of events in the bargaining process which would inevitably involve the international organizations in question in legal proceedings. It was from such litigation, which was by no means a remote possibility, that international organizations were to be shielded in order to safeguard them from the disruption of their functions (p. 161).
The following is the text of the judgment of the Court, delivered by Melencio-Herrera J:
Consolidated on 11 December 1989, these two cases involve the validity of the claim of immunity by the International Catholic Migration Commission (icmc) and the International Rice Research Institute Inc (irri) from the application of Philippine labor laws.
As an aftermath of the Vietnam War, the plight of Vietnamese refugees fleeing from South Vietnam's communist rule confronted the international community.
In response to this crises, on 23 February 1981, an Agreement was forged between the Philippine Government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees whereby an operating center for processing Indo-Chinese refugees for eventual resettlement to other countries was to be established in Bataan (Annex A, Rollo, pp. 2232).
icmc was one of those accredited by the Philippine Government to operate the refugee processing center in Morong, Bataan. It was incorporated in New York, USA, at the request of the Holy See, as a...
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