article 5, paragraph 2(b)of the Optional Protocol. In the light of a 1970 landmark decision of the Supreme Administrative Court rejecting an appeal filed by parents who complained about the denial of “SSA”, the authors contend that an appeal would be futile, especially considering that all similar appeals following the 1970 decision have been rejected. (SSA), is normally granted by Swedish municipalities regardless of whether the children are attending private or public schools. Such aid is allegedly intended to relieve the parents of the additional expenses they face because of the compulsory school attendance of their children. Since, pursuant to the Parents Code, parents must support their children, who are under an obligation to attend comprehensive school, the Swedish legislature considers financial aid to be a social benefit and complementary to child allowances. 3. By decisions dated 8 July 1988, the Working Group of the Human Rights Committee transmitted the communications under rule 91 of the rules of procedure to the State party, requesting information and observations relevant to the question of admissibility. In this context, it asked the State party to provide the Committee with the rules and regulations governing the granting and use of financial aid for private schools or their pupils in respect of school meals and teaching aids. 2.3 Children may attend either a public or a recognized private school in order to satisfy the requirement of compulsory school attendance. According to the authors, the award of free or subsidized textbooks and of free school meals is neither exempted from the scope of the equality rule nor from the scope of article 26 of the Covenant. 4.1 In its submissions under rule 91, dated 22 November 1988, the State party objected to the admissibility of the communications under article 3 of the Optional Protocol, on grounds of lack of merit. It admitted, however, that domestic remedies had been exhausted within the meaning of article 5, paragraph 2(b), of the Optional Protocol, since the legal situation in Sweden is such that any appeal would have been futile. 2.4 The Supreme Administrative Court has considered “SSA” to constitute services provided free of charge. This, the authors claim, is incorrect, since it is financed out of the municipal income tax, borne by all residents of the municipality. They further allege that, for ordinary Swedish families, public grants ensure a basic standard of living. “SSA” , therefore, constitutes a supplementary, tax-free income. Parents receiving “SSA” are said to be put in a better economic situation vis-à-vis parents who do not receive such aid. The authors consider this fact to compound the discriminatory effect of the municipality’s refusal to grant them “SSA”. 4.2 The State party submits that the Swedish School system is regulated by the 1985 School Act (Skollagen 1985: 1100). Sweden operates a uniform public school system comprising a compulsory basic school for pupils aged 7-16 years. The duty to attend school corresponds to the right to receive education within the framework of the public school system (chap. 3, sect. 1, of the 1985 Act). The duty to attend school shall, in principle, be fulfilled by attending a public school. Exceptions to this rule are Sami schools, approved independent schools (private schools) and national boarding schools (chap. 3, sect. 2, of the 1985 Act). The Act stipulates that the obligation to attend school may be satisfied through attendance at a private school approved for that purpose by the local school board. The Act provides that approval shall be granted if the school in question provides education of a quality that corresponds to that of the compulsory basic school. 2.5 Since 1958, the decision to award financial aid has been delegated by the central Government to the municipal authorities. Pursuant to the Local Government Act, municipal authorities are prohibited from treating residents differently on any other than on objective bases, so as to ensure equality of treatment in the application of the law. 2.6 The authors claim that there is discrimination between their children and the pupils of public schools or private schools receiving financial aid. This difference in treatment is possible because the local authorities are under no legal obligation to grant financial aid to private schools, which renders the system arbitrary. 4.3 The 1985 Act provides that basic compulsory school shall be free of charge for pupils (chap. 4, sect. 15). In particular, books, writing utensils and other aids shall be provided 2.7 The authors claim that they have exhausted domestic remedies for purposes of 85