Synonymous with international treaties, international labour Conventions go through a pre established tripartite discussion procedure and are also adopted within a tripartite framework. Once a Convention has been adopted by the ILC, the member States are required under the Constitution to bring it before the competent authorities "for the enactment of legislation or other action". This innovative requirement is intended to generate democratic debate at national level on whether it is appropriate to ratify the international labour Convention concerned. If the member State decides to ratify the Convention, it is only at that point that it acquires binding force for that State and that the State has to take such action as may be necessary to make its provisions effective.

Generally speaking, it is recognized that Conventions have to be universal - in other words ratifiable by the largest possible number of States - adapted to national conditions, flexible and viable. Some Conventions are more technical, setting out specific standards which the member States undertake to comply with or to achieve through ratification, while others are more of a promotional nature, setting aims that have to be pursued by means of ongoing national action plans. From the point of view of the ILO Constitution, international labour Conventions do not affect more favourable national provisions. Furthermore, if a State withdraws from the ILO, it remains bound by Conventions which it has previously ratified.

Since the Organization was founded, the ILC has pursued an intense programme of legislative activity with 187 Conventions adopted to date (9 August 2006) which involved more than 7,400 ratifications. They cover all labour-related issues.

Protocols are also international treaties, but which, in the ILO context, do not exist independently since they are always linked to a Convention. Like Conventions, they are subject to ratification (however, the Convention to which they are linked also remains open for ratification). They are used for the purpose of partially revising Conventions, in other words where the subject of the revision is limited. They thus allow adaptation to changing conditions and they enable practical difficulties to be dealt with which have arisen since the Convention was adopted, thus making the Conventions more relevant and up to date. Protocols are particularly appropriate where the aim is to keep intact a Convention which has already been ratified and which may receive further ratifications, while amending or adding to certain provisions on specific points. The ILC has adopted five Protocols to date.

International labour Recommendations go through the same tripartite drafting and adoption process as Conventions. They too have to be brought before the competent authorities, but they are not subject to ratification and do not therefore have binding force. The ILO Constitution provides that Recommendations shall be adopted where the subject, or aspect of it, dealt with by the ILC, is not suitable for a Convention. However, practice has moved away from the primary role provided for in the Constitution, and most up-to-date Recommendations supplement and clarify the content of the Conventions they accompany. Only a small number of independent Recommendations have been adopted by the ILC. Recommendations serve above all to define the standards that are to guide government action.

The ILC has adopted 198 Recommendations to date.

Although Conventions and Recommendations are the instruments most commonly used by the ILC to formulate standards, it has also, in its long practice, used other types of texts.

Declarations are generally used by the ILO ILC or Governing Body in order to make a formal statement and reaffirm the importance which the constituents attach to certain principles and values. Although declarations are not subject to ratification, they are intended to have a wide application and contain symbolic and political undertakings by the member States. In some cases declarations could be regarded as an expression of customary law. Four declarations have been adopted by the ILO: the Declaration of Philadelphia in 1944, which has since formed an integral part of the ILO Constitution; the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy in 1977; the Declaration on apartheid in 1964; and lastly, in 1998, the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

The ILC generally uses resolutions for two different purposes. First, it may use resolutions as a way of formally expressing its will or its opinion on a given subject. These resolutions are intended as a response to practical situations and specific needs. Some are used as guidelines in terms of social policy standards and as reference points by the ILO's supervisory bodies for evaluating national situations. Secondly, the ILC may adopt resolutions accompanied by conclusions following general tripartite discussions within one of its technical committees. Although such discussions may not lead directly to a standard setting action, in many cases they enable problems to be explored in detail and from every angle (this was the case with social security in 2001, the informal economy in 2002, the employment relationship and occupational safety and health in 2003, and migrant workers in 2004).

Technical committees of experts, special or regional conferences and bodies set up to deal with particular issues (social security, labour statistics, health and safety) or sectors (industrial committees, joint maritime commissions, etc.) are also required to adopt texts which may take various forms (resolutions, guidelines, standard regulations). These standards vary both in their content, which may relate to fundamental principles or technical matters, and in the authority conferred on them. However, they are certainly useful in that they are designed to respond to practical situations and have been adopted by bodies representing the interests involved.

Lastly, mention must be made of the guidelines and codes of practice prepared by the International Labour Office's technical departments and branches. Although not binding, they are still useful in that they are sometimes provided for in the Conventions themselves, and they develop and flesh out international labour standards. Their amendment procedure is also much more flexible than for the international labour Conventions and Recommendations. These guidelines and codes of practice are subject to the tripartite discussion process and to the Governing Body.