public registrar's office, those working as teaching staff at public schools and those who give their services as volunteers. 3.2 According to the author, his subordination to the mayor of Dantumadeel is merely of a formal character; the mayor seldom gives direct orders to police sergeants. In support of his argument he submits that appointments of national policemen are made by the Minister of Justice, and that the mayor has authority over national police officers only with respect to the maintenance of public order; for the exercise of this authority the mayor is not accountable to the municipal council, but to the Minister of Internal Affairs. 4.4 Officers in the national police force are appointed by the Minister of Justice, but are, pursuant to section 35 of the Police Act, subject to the authority of the mayor when engaged in maintaining public order. The State party argues that, since a subordinate relationship exists and consequently a conflict of interests may arise, it is reasonable not to permit police officers to become members of the municipal council in the municipality in which they serve. 3.3 The author further alleges that article 26 of the Covenant has been violated in his case. He contends that membership in the local council is not denied to local firemen and teaching staff, although they also work in a subordinate position to the mayor of the municipality. He also submits that other municipal councils have not challenged the credentials of local police officers, who are duly elected to the council. In this connection, he mentions examples of the municipalities of Sneek and Wapenveld. 4.5 As regards the admissibility of the communication, the State party concedes that domestic remedies have been exhausted. However, it contends that the incompatibility of membership in the municipal council with the author's position in the national police force, as regulated in the Municipalities Act, is a reasonable restriction to the author's right to be elected and based on objective grounds. The State party submits that the author has no claim under article 2 of the Optional Protocol and that his communication should therefore be declared inadmissible. State party's observations on admissibility and the author's comments thereon 4.1 By submission of 27 October 1992, the State party provides information about the factual and legal background of the case. It submits that the right to vote and to stand in elections is enshrined in article 4 of the Constitution of the Netherlands, according to which every national of the Netherlands "shall have an equal right to elect the members of the general representative bodies and to stand for election as a member of those bodies, subject to the limitations and exceptions prescribed by Act of Parliament". 5.1 In his comments on the State party's submission, the author argues that no conflict of interests exists between his position as a national police officer and membership in the municipal council. He submits that the council, not the mayor, is the highest authority of the municipality and that, with regard to the maintenance of public order, the mayor is accountable to the Minister of Justice, not to the council. 5.2 The author refers to his original communication and claims that inequality of treatment exists between officers in the national police force and other public officers who are subordinate to municipal authorities. In this context, he mentions that teachers in public schools were, until 1982, also barred from membership in municipal councils but are now eligible for membership, following an amendment to the law. The author therefore argues that no reasonable ground exists to hold his position as a national police officer incompatible with membership in the municipal council. 4.2 In agreement with the Constitution, section 25 of the Municipalities Act sets forth the positions which may not be held simultaneously with membership in a municipal council. Three groups of positions are held to be incompatible with membership: (a) positions of authority over or supervision of the municipal council; (b) positions which are subject to the supervision of a municipal administrative authority; (c) positions which by their nature cannot be combined with membership in the council. The State party explains that the rationale for these exclusions is to guarantee the integrity of municipal institutions and hence to safeguard the democratic decision-making process, by preventing a conflict of interests. Committee's decision on admissibility 6. At its forty-ninth session, the Committee considered the admissibility of the communication. It noted the State party's argument that the restrictions placed upon the author's eligibility for membership in the municipal council of Dantumadeel were reasonable within the meaning of article 25. The Committee considered that the question whether the restrictions were reasonable 4.3 Pursuant to section 25, paragraph 1 (f), of the Act, membership in the municipal council is incompatible with a position as a public servant appointed by or on behalf of the municipal authority or subordinate to it. Exceptions to incompatibility are made for those civil servants working for the 146