To me, it is difficult to see that article 12, paragraph 3, entitles the State party to deny the author a passport on any of the grounds mentioned in this paragraph. None of them justifies the State party's prohibition on Mr. Peltonen to leave any country other than Finland. Article 12, paragraph 2, of the Covenant, in my view, obliges the State party to respect the author's freedom of leaving any country other than Finland by issuing a passport to him. party to use and abuse the refusal of a passport as a means of exerting pressure on a conscript, so as induce him to return to Finland and perform his military service and be disciplined for his non-appearance in the military call-ups. It is not necessary either for the protection of national security, public order or public morals to use the refusal of a passport for restrictions on a person's freedom to leave any country for such purposes. This would be entirely incompatible with the object and purpose of paragraph 3. I therefore am of the opinion that the State party has violated article 12, paragraph 2, by refusing a passport to the author, which is a prerequisite for the exercise of his freedom to leave any country. It would not be justified to interpret paragraph 3 of article 12 as entitling a State party to deny a passport to a person if a passport would enable him to leave a country other than Finland because he avoids military service in Finland. Such an interpretation would allow the State Communication No. 500/1992 Submitted by: Joszef Debreczeny (represented by counsel) Alleged victim: The author State party: The Netherlands Declared admissible: 14 October 1993 (forty-ninth session) Date of adoption of Views: 3 April 1995 (fifty-third session) reference was made to article 25, paragraph f, of the Gemeentewet (Municipalities Act), which provides that membership in the municipal council is incompatible with, inter alia, employment as a civil servant in subordination to local authorities. Subject matter: Incompatibility of employment as a civil servant with membership in municipal council under Durch law Procedural issues: None Substantive issues: Permissible restrictions on right to be elected to public office – Differential treatment based on reasonable and objective criteria – Failure of State party to enforce applicable legislation to comparable groups in other cases 2.2 The author appealed the decision to the Raad van State (Council of State), which, on 26 April 1990, rejected his appeal. It considered that the author, as a national police officer, stationed at Dantumadeel, worked under the direct authority of the mayor of the municipality, for purposes of maintenance of public order and performance of auxiliary tasks; according to the Raad, this subordinate position was incompatible with membership in the local council, which is chaired by the mayor. Articles of the Covenant: 2 (1), 25 and 26 Article of the Optional Protocol: 2 1. The author of the communication is Joszef Debreczeny, a citizen of the Netherlands, residing at Damwoude (municipality of Dantumadeel), the Netherlands. He claims to be the victim of a violation by the Netherlands of articles 25 and 26, juncto article 2, paragraph 1, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. He is represented by counsel. 2.3 As the Raad van State is the highest administrative court in the Netherlands, the author submits that he has exhausted domestic remedies. He further states that the matter has not been submitted to any other procedure of international investigation or settlement. Complaint Facts as submitted by the author 3.1 The author submits that the refusal to accept his membership in the local council of Dantumadeel violates his rights under article 25 (a) and (b) of the Covenant. He contends that every citizen, when duly elected, should have the right to be a member of the local council of the municipality where he resides, and that the relevant regulations, as applied to him, constitute an unreasonable restriction on this right within the meaning of article 25 of the Covenant. 2.1 The author states that, in general municipal elections, he was elected to the local council of Dantumadeel on 23 March 1990. The council, however, by decision of 10 April 1990, refused to accept his credentials; it considered that the author's employment as a national police sergeant, stationed at Dantumadeel, was incompatible with membership in the municipal council; in this connection, 145