Preliminary considerations

This Digest contains the decisions which have been adopted by the Committee on Freedom of Association classified according to the particular features of the individual case, which therefore have to be considered in their specific context. It also contains principles which are more general in scope, sometimes developed on the basis of previous decisions which showed some similarity with the case under examination. Through its use of these principles as a basis for its reasoning, the Committee has been able to maintain a continuity in the criteria employed in reaching its conclusions and, as appropriate to the individual case, in finding that the allegations are well-founded or require no further action. Consequently, the application of a principle in a particular case in relation to a country does not necessarily imply that the government of that country has not respected it.

The decisions and principles of the Committee have been developed on the basis of complaints made by organizations of workers or of employers. In this respect, it should be noted that the immense majority of the complaints examined by the Committee to date have been submitted by organizations of workers. This explains why the wording of most of the Committee's principles and decisions refers explicitly to organizations of workers. Nevertheless, many of these principles are of a general nature and could also be applied, were the case to arise, to organizations of employers.

In view of the interrelated nature of certain sections of this Digest, it was considered appropriate in some cases to reproduce identical principles or decisions by the Committee in different sections of the Digest.

To guide the reader, each of the principles and decisions of the Committee contained in this Digest, the corresponding references are given to the previous Digest of 1985 or to the reports, cases and appropriate paragraphs of the Committee's Reports, up to its 298th Report (February-March 1995).