Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that one of the pillars of the legal system of Macau, which is based on the civil law tradition, is that international law and internal law form part of the same judicial system and operate simultaneously with respect to the same matters. According to the Government, there is no need for the incorporation of international law into internal law for the purpose of its application. However, one or more clauses of an international agreement may require enforcement regulations. In such cases, even though the provisions of treaties remain directly applicable, they still need to be implemented through internal legislative measures. In case of Convention No. 92, no local legislation has been established on this matter, since the Government claimed that the provisions of this Convention were sufficiently explicit as regards the scope of their application. The Government further pointed out that the supervision of the application of Convention No. 92 in Macau is exercised by the Labour and Employment Services Directorate in conjunction with the Port Authority of Macau.

The Committee recalls that, under Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention, each Member for which this Convention is in force undertakes to maintain in force laws or regulations which ensure the application of the provisions of Parts II, III and IV of this Convention. These laws or regulations shall, in particular, provide for the maintenance of a system of inspection adequate to ensure effective enforcement (Article 3, paragraph 2(d)). The Committee also recalls that a number of provisions of Convention No. 92 require a national authority to take specific steps for its implementation.

The Committee asks the Government to specify when action will be taken to make effective those provisions of the Convention which require a national authority to take steps for its implementation, notably Article 8, paragraph 5, and Article 13, paragraph 6, of the Convention.

It also requests the Government to indicate how it ensures that the Labour and Employment Services Directorate and the Port Authority of Macau verify compliance of ships registered in Macau with every specific requirement of Convention No. 92. It further asks the Government to provide information on the number and results of inspections and investigation of complaints as well as penalties imposed (Article 3, paragraph 2(c) and (d), Article 5, paragraph (c), Part III of the report form) and information on any practical difficulties (Part V of the report form).