VI. CONSIDERATICJf OF CCMCUNICATIC»fS UNDBR ARTICLB 22 OF THE CONVENTICIf 296. Under article 22 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, individuals who claim that any of their rights enumerated in the Convention have been violated by a State party and who have exhausted all available domestic remedies may submit written communic~tions to the Committee against Torture for consideration. Twenty-five out of 55 State~ that have acceded to or ratified tbe Convention have declared that they recognize the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications under article 22 of the Convention. Those States are Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Canada, Deumark, Bcuador, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, tb. Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Swit.erland, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey and Uruguay. No communication may be received by the Committee if it concerns a State party to the Convention that has n~t recogni.ed the competence of the Committee to do so. 291. Consideration of communications under article 22 of the Convention takes place in closed mevtings (art. 22, para. 6). All documents pertaining to tbe work of the Committee under article 22 (submissions from the parties and other working documents of the Committee) are confidential. 298. In carrying out its work under article 22 of tbe Convention, tbe Committee may be assisted by a working group of not more than five of its me:nbers, which submits recommendations to the Committee regardinC) the fulfilment of the conditions of admissibility of communications or assists it in any manner which the Committee may decid. (rule 106 of the rules of procedure of the Committ&e). 299. A communication may not be declared admissible unless the State party ha. received the text of the communication and has been given an opportunity to furnish information or observations concerning tbe question of admissibility, including information relating to the exhaustion of dome.tic remedies (rule 108, para. 3). Within six months after the transmittal to the State party of a decision of the Committee declarinC) a communication admissible, the State party shall submit to the Committee written explanations or statements clarifying the matter under consideration and the remedy, if any, which may have been taken by it (rule 110, para. 2). 300. The Committee concludes expmination of an admissible c~unication by formulating its views thereon in the light of all information made available to it by the complainant and the State party. The views of the Committee are communicated to the parties (art. 22, para. 7, of the Co~vention and rule Ill, para. 3) and are thereafter made available to the ge~eral public. As a rule, the text of the Committee's decisirns declaring communications inadmi.sible under article 22 of the Convention are also made public. 301. Pursuant to rule 112 of its rules of procedule, the Committee shall include in its annual report a summary of the communications examined and, where appropriate, a summary of the explana~ion5 and statements of the State. parties concerned and of its own views. The Committee may also include in its annual report the text of its views under article 22, paragraph 7, of the Convention and the text of any decision declaring a communication inadmissible. -55-