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1. The Committee notes the detailed reply made by the Government in November 2005 to its previous direct request. The Government provided a copy of the opinion of the Attorney-General (Procurador del Tesoro de la Nación) dated 25 January 2000 (Opinion 232:061), concerning the request for advice on the validity of the legal provisions which applied prior to the ratification of the Convention. The Attorney-General found that sections 10 and 18 of Act No. 13591, which prohibited the operation of private employment agencies conducted with a view to profit, had become void since the approval of the ratification of Convention No. 96, Part III of which regulates such agencies. The Attorney-General indicated that “in accordance with the provisions of articles 31 and 75(22) of the National Constitution, treaties have a higher ranking than laws; it is accordingly clear that the Convention … is ranked above the law; it was approved by the National Congress … and it is not necessary for current domestic law to be adapted to its provisions. The ranking of the provisions of the Convention … is higher than that of internal standards on matters relating to the subject covered, and they therefore prevail over such internal standards”. The Committee notes with satisfaction the information provided and welcomes the approach adopted by the Government to ensure the application of the Convention. Nevertheless, the Committee recalls that the Governing Body invited the States parties to Convention No. 96 to contemplate ratifying, if appropriate, the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181), the ratification of which involves the immediate denunciation of Convention No. 96.

2. Regulation of fee-charging employment agencies. With reference to its previous direct request, the Committee also notes with satisfaction the detailed provisions of Decree No. 489/2001, of 26 April 2001, approving regulations issued under Article 1 of Part I and Articles 10, 11 and 12 of Part III of the Convention. The Committee notes that neither cooperatives nor temporary work agencies may act as employment agencies. The Committee requests the Government to provide practical information in future reports on the measures adopted by the competent authority to supervise the activities of the agencies covered by the Convention, including whether courts of law have given decisions involving questions of principle relating to its application and providing summaries of inspection reports, information regarding the number and nature of the contraventions reported, and any other particulars bearing on the practical application of the Convention (Article 14 of the Convention and Parts IV and V of the report form).