Tamara v. Labour Court of First Instance n. 36 of Madrid

Ms Tamara, a former employee of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), sued the latter organization before the Labour Court of First Instance of Madrid, complaining the unlawful termination of her employment. ICCAT opposed its jurisdictional immunity pursuant to the Headquarters Agreement concluded between ICCAT and Spain. The respondent organization also argued that labour disputes between ICCAT and its staff members must be settled by relying on the alternative mechanisms of dispute resolution provided by ICCAT: the conciliation procedure; the appeal before the Committee of Appeal of the organization in the first instance; and the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization.

The Court of First Instance dismissed the case, finding that ICCAT was immune from the jurisdiction of national courts. The Court of Appeal confirmed this conclusion.

As a result, Ms Tamara filed an application to the Social Chamber of the High Court of Madrid, claiming that the recognition of ICCAT’s immunity had infringed her right to a remedy enshrined in the national Constitution.

Overturning the decisions adopted by the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal, the High Court declared that national courts enjoy jurisdiction to rule upon employment disputes between an international organization and its employees. As it held, at the current stage, States and international organizations are not entitled to absolute immunity. The jurisdictional immunity granted to States and the other subjects of international law is limited to the acts jure imperii. According to the High Court, the instant dispute, involving the employment relationship between ICCAT and an administrative employee, fell out of the scope of ICCAT’s immunity.

Furthermore, the Court highlighted the absence of any agreement between Spain and ICCAT, allowing the latter to assert jurisdictional immunity before Spanish courts in cases concerning the terms of an employment that has been or is to be carried out wholly or partially in Spain. Indeed, according to the Ley Organica del Poder Judicial, national courts have jurisdiction over labor disputes when the service was performed in Spanish territory or when the employment contract was concluded in Spain.

In addition, the High Court stressed that the respondent organization’s regulations do not provide for a proper judicial, non-administrative tribunal where the dispute could be heard.