Complaint with Inter-American Commission of Human Rights alleging arbitrary dismissal. Obligation to respect minimum due process guarantees in administrative proceedings. Use of right to adequate judicial protection to guarantee effective realization of rights to work and to freely associate for labor purposes.
In its decision dated November 17, 2005, the Court noted that Panama had partially complied with the order to reassign the workers to their previous positions, and to pay them the missed salaries and moral damages. The Court requested the State to submit a report including all measures adopted to fully comply with the decision by March 31, 2006.
This case is a valuable precedent, because it is the first time that the Inter-American Court has heard violations of labor rights. The case shows that due judicial protection, as well as unrestricted respect for due legal process guarantees at the domestic level, constitute an essential source of protection ensuring the effectiveness of the right to work.
Applicants: Comité Panameño por los Derechos Humanos and the Center for Justice and International Law(CEJIL) (http://www.cejil.org) on behalf of the 270 workers dismissed.