C157 - Maintenance of Social Security Rights Convention, 1982 (No. 157)

• Subject Matter: Social security,Sécurité sociale,Seguridad social
• Court: International Labour Organization

Preamble

The General Conference of the International Labour Organisation,

Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office, and having met in its Sixty-eighth Session on 2 June 1982, and

Recalling the principles established by the Equality of Treatment (Social Security) Convention, 1962, which relate not only to equality of treatment but also to the maintenance of acquired rights and of rights in course of acquisition, and

Considering it necessary to provide for the application of the principles of the maintenance of rights in course of acquisition and of acquired rights in respect of all the branches of social security covered by the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952, and

Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to maintenance of migrant workers' rights in social security (revision of Convention No. 48), which is the fourth item on the agenda of the session, and

Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international Convention;

adopts this twenty-first day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and eighty-two the following Convention, which may be cited as the Maintenance of Social Security Rights Convention, 1982:

PART I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

In this Convention-

• (a) the term Member means any Member of the International Labour Organisation that is bound by the Convention;
• (b) the term legislation includes any social security rules as well as laws and regulations;
• (c) the term competent Member means the Member under whose legislation the person concerned can claim benefit;
• (d) the term institution means the body or authority directly responsible for applying all or part of the legislation of a Member;
• (e) the term refugee has the meaning assigned to it in Article 1 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 28 July 1951 and in paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees of 31 January 1967;
• (f) the term stateless person has the meaning assigned to it in Article 1 of the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons of 28 September 1954;
• (g) the term members of the family means persons defined or recognised as such or as members of the household by the legislation under which benefits are awarded or provided, as appropriate, or persons determined by mutual agreement between the Members concerned; where persons are defined or recognised as members of the family or as members of the household under the relevant legislation only on the condition that they are living with the person concerned, this condition shall be deemed to be satisfied in respect of persons who obtain their main support from the person concerned;
• (h) the term survivors means persons defined or recognised as such by the legislation under which benefits are awarded; where persons are defined or recognised as survivors under the relevant legislation only on the condition that they were living with the deceased, this condition shall be deemed to be satisfied in respect of persons who obtained their main support from the deceased;
• (i) the term residence means ordinary residence;
• (j) the term temporary residence means a temporary stay;
• (k) the term periods of insurance means periods of contribution, employment, occupational activity or residence which are defined or recognised as periods of insurance by the legislation under which they were completed, and such other periods as are regarded by that legislation as equivalent to periods of insurance;
• (l) the terms periods of employment and periods of occupational activity mean periods defined or recognised as such by the legislation under which they were completed and such other periods as are regarded by that legislation as equivalent to periods of employment or periods of occupational activity respectively;
• (m) the term periods of residence means periods of residence defined or recognised as such by the legislation under which they were completed;
• (n) the term non-contributory applies to benefits the award of which does not depend on direct financial participation by the persons protected or by their employer, or on a qualifying period of occupational activity, and to any scheme which exclusively awards such benefits;
• (o) the term benefits awarded under transitional arrangements covers benefits awarded to persons who are over a given age on the date of entry into force of the legislation applicable, as well as benefits awarded, as a transitional measure, in consideration of events that have occurred or periods that have been completed outside the current frontiers of the territory of a Member.

Article 2

1. 1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 1 and of paragraph 3, subparagraph (a), of Article 4, this Convention applies to those of the following branches of social security for which a Member has legislation in force
   • (a) medical care;
   • (b) sickness benefit;
   • (c) maternity benefit;
   • (d) invalidity benefit;
   • (e) old-age benefit;
   • (f) survivors' benefit;
   • (g) employment injury benefit, namely benefit in respect of occupational injuries and diseases;
   • (h) unemployment benefit; and
   • (i) family benefit.
2. 2. This Convention applies to rehabilitation benefits provided by legislation concerning any of the branches of social security referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.
3. 3. This Convention applies to all general and special social security schemes, both contributory and non-contributory, as well as to schemes consisting of obligations imposed on employers by legislation in respect of any branch of social security referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.
4. 4. This Convention does not apply to special schemes for civil servants, to special schemes for war victims or to social or medical assistance schemes.

Article 3

1. 1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 1 and paragraph 3, subparagraph (b), of Article 4 and of paragraph 1 of Article 9, this Convention applies to persons who are or have been subject to the legislation of one or more Members, as well as to the members of their families and to their survivors, in all cases in which the international system for the maintenance of rights established by this Convention requires that account be taken of the legislation of a Member other than the Member in whose territory the persons concerned are resident or temporarily resident.
2. 2. This Convention does not require any Member to apply its provisions to persons who, by virtue of international instruments, are exempted from the application of the legislation of that Member.

Article 4

1. 1. Members may give effect to their obligations under the terms of Parts II to VI of this Convention by bilateral or multilateral instruments giving effect to these obligations, under conditions to be determined by mutual agreement between the Members concerned.
2. 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, the provisions of paragraph 4 of Article 7, of paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 8, of paragraphs 1 and 4 of Article 9, of Article 11, of Article 12, of Article 14 and of paragraph 3 of Article 18 of this Convention shall be immediately applied by each Member as from the coming into force of this Convention for that Member.
3. 3. The instruments referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall specify in particular-
   • (a) the branches of social security to which they apply, having regard to the requirement of reciprocity referred to in Articles 6 and 10 of this Convention; these branches shall, where the...