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The Committee notes the Government’s brief indication in its report that no developments have occurred in regard to the points raised in the Committee’s previous observation. Since the Government’s report contains no further information in reply to previous comments, the Committee must therefore repeat its previous observation on the following matters:

Article 1(a) of the Convention. For a number of years, the Committee has been referring to Legislative Decree No. 65 of 1979 with respect to public meetings and gatherings, which establishes a system of prior authorization (which may be refused without giving reasons, under section 6 of the above Decree) and, in the event of violations, provides for a penalty of imprisonment involving, by virtue of the Penal Code, an obligation to work. The Committee stressed the importance for the effective observance of the Convention of legal guarantees regarding the right of assembly and the direct bearing that a restriction of this right can have on the application of the Convention. Indeed, it is often through the exercise of this right that political opposition to the established order can be expressed, and in ratifying the Convention the State has undertaken to guarantee persons who manifest this opposition in a peaceful manner the protection that the Convention affords them.

In its report received in October 2002, the Government reiterated that the prior authorization provided for in the aforementioned Decree is required for the sake of public security and that no violations of the Decree had occurred and consequently no judicial decisions had been issued. However, in its previous report received in January 2002, the Government stated that meetings politically opposing the current system are not covered by the Decree, since a list of meetings, which shall not be considered public in virtue of section 2 of the Decree and therefore exempted from the scope of the Decree, is not exhaustive. The Committee requests the Government to clarify this issue, particularly with regard to political public meetings, since section 2 apparently excludes only those meetings which are not considered to be public. It hopes that measures will be taken to clearly exclude political public meetings from the application of the above Decree, e.g. by amending the wording of section 2, in order to bring the legislation into conformity with the Convention and the indicated practice. Pending the adoption of such measures, the Committee asks the Government to continue to supply information on the application of the Decree in practice, including the number of convictions for violations of its provisions and copies of any court decisions defining or illustrating their scope.

Article 1(c) and (d). For many years, the Committee has been referring to Legislative Decree No. 31 of 1980 with respect to security, order and discipline on board ship, under the terms of which certain breaches of discipline (unauthorized absence, repeated disobedience, failure to return to the vessel) committed by common agreement by three persons may be punished by imprisonment involving an obligation to work. The Committee noted that penalties imposed for violations of labour discipline or punishment for having participated in a strike do not come within the scope of the Convention where such acts endanger the safety of the vessel or the life or safety of the persons on board, but that sections 11, 12 and 13 of the above Decree do not limit the application of the penalties to such acts.

The Committee has noted the Government’s statement in its reports received in 2002 that it attaches great importance to bringing Decree No. 31 of 1980 into conformity with the provisions of the Convention and intends to take the necessary measures in this direction.

The Committee hopes that the necessary measures to amend Legislative Decree No. 31 of 1980 will be taken in the near future with a view to ensuring that the imposition of penalties involving compulsory labour will be limited to cases in which the violations committed constitute a danger for the vessel or for the life or safety of persons, and that the Government will provide information on the action taken to this end.