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The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report.

1. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest that Decree No. 153 of 24 March 1970 under which categories of persons with a parasitic or anarchical way of life are liable to criminal penalties has been repealed by Act No. 61 of 27 September 1991 to punish acts in breach of the rules of social cohabitation, of order and of the public peace.

2. The Committee has examined the new Constitution adopted by referendum on 8 December 1991. The Committee notes that, pursuant to section 38 the choice of an occupation and workplace is free and that forced labour is prohibited by section 39, paragraph 1.

The Committee is addressing a request directly to the Government concerning certain exceptions to the principle of the prohibition of forced labour which appear in section 39, paragraph 2.

3. In its previous comments, the Committee referred to Act No. 24/1976 making it compulsory for persons out of work to register with the Directorate of Labour or its regional offices with a view to being placed in employment; it asked the Government to provide information on all measures taken or contemplated to ensure that the provisions of the Act could not be used in practice as a means of forcing people to work.

The Committee notes the information given by the Government in its report concerning the constitutional provisions on the free choice of an occupation and workplace and concerning the priority given in domestic law to the provisions of the covenants and treaties on human rights (sections 37 and 20).

The Committee has also taken note of the provisions of Act No. 1 of 7 January 1991 providing for the social welfare and occupational reintegration of the unemployed. The Committee points out that the Government stated previously that Act No. 24/1976 would be wholly or partly repealed when the Act on the social welfare of workers was adopted. The Committee observes that Act No. 1 of 1991 did not formally repeal Act No. 24/1976.

Noting that, under section 150 of the Constitution, the Legislative Council is called upon to examine the conformity of legislation with the Constitution and to make appropriate proposals, the Committee asks the Government to supply information on the steps taken or contemplated to repeal the provisions of Act No. 24/1976. The Committee hopes that the Government will send a copy of any provisions adopted to that effect.

4. In its previous comments the Committee noted that, under section 15, subsection 3, of Decree No. 93 of 28 March 1983 of the Council of State to approve the statutes of socialist organisations in agriculture, the withdrawal of a member of a cooperative required the approval of the General Assembly; it asked the Government to indicate the practical consequences of refusal by the Assembly to approve such a withdrawal.

The Committee notes the provisions of Act No. 37 of 20 February 1991 on land tenure, to which the Government refers in its report: an Act which reorganises the system of property, in particular by reintroducing the regime of private property, specifically in favour of members of agricultural cooperatives.

Recalling also that the Government stated previously that Decree No. 93/1983 had fallen into abeyance, the Committee hopes that the Government will repeal Decree No. 93/1989 in order to safeguard the legal coherence of the national laws and bring them into conformity on this point with the Convention and the practice previously mentioned.