1922.] 



Internationai. Labour Organisation. 



581 



On 12th August last the Permanent Court of International 

 Justice delivered its opinion on the question raised by the 

 international Government as to whether the 



Labour competence of the International L-abour 



Organisation and ^^i^g^^i^i^ation extends to the international 



A^vin-,.n,,r,.s rogulation of the conditions of labour of 

 Agriculture. ^ , ^ . . ^, 



parsons employed m agriculture. 



It will be remembered that the International Labour Organi- 

 sation was established by the Peace Treaty to deal with labour 

 conditions throughout the world, and in connection with the 

 International Labour Conference held at Geneva in 1921 the 

 right of the Organisation to deal with agriculture was disputed 

 by the French Government. The question, which turned 

 mainly on the interpretation of the Treaty, was referred to 

 the Permanent Court of International Justice. 



The Court after hearing evidence delivered a considered 

 judgment in the course of which the meaning of the relative 

 portions of the Treaty w^as fully discussed The conclusion 

 finally reached by the Court was that ' ' the competence of the 

 International Labour Organisation does extend to international 

 regulation of the conditions of labour of persons employed in 

 agriculture, and it therefore answers in the affirmative the 

 Question referred to it." 



The following supplementary question was also considered : — 

 ' ' Does examination of proposals for the organisation and 

 development of methods of agricultural production, and of 

 other questions of a like character, fall within the competence 

 of the International Labour Organisation?" This the Court 

 answered in the negative, observing, however, that although 

 the consideration of the means of production in itself would 

 be alien to the functions of the International Labour Organisa- 

 tion, " it does not follow that the Organisation must totally 

 exclude from its consideration the effect upon production of 

 measures which it may seek to promote for the benefit of the 

 workers," or that it should be " excluded from dealino' with 

 the matters specifically committed to it by the Treaty on the 

 ground that this may involve in some aspects the consideration 

 of the means or methods of production." 



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