Interim Report - REPORT_NO28, 1958

A. A. The complainants' allegations

• Allegations relating to Restrictions on the Right to Organise
  275. 275 In the complaint annexed to its communication of 29 August 1957 the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions states that the Constitution of Turkey guarantees the right of association, the limits of this freedom being determined by legislation, which may not, however, contain provisions in derogation of Constitutional rights. The Trade Union Act, 1947, defines an employees' trade union as a " combination of persons employed in the same branch of activity for the purposes of mutual assistance and the protection and representation of their common interests ", the term " employee " being dependent on the definition thereof in section 1 of the Labour Act, 1936 : " any person doing manual work or work which is partly manual and partly non-manual under a contract of service in an undertaking belonging to another person ". Hence, the employee whose work is purely Intellectual is excluded from the right to organise pursuant to the Trade Union Act, the only exception being journalists by virtue of the Journalists Act, 1952. The complainant recalls that similar allegations were examined by the Committee in Case No. 50, when the Government pointed out that intellectual workers had the right to form organisations " having the character of trade unions " under the Associations Act, 1938. But, declares the complainant, associations covered by the 1938 Act may not " engage in more than one field of activity ", while organisations set up under the Trade Union Act may engage in various activities, under section 4 of the latter Act, even though that section is still restrictive.
• Allegations relating to Restrictions on the Establishment of Federations
  276. 276 The Trade Union Act allows the setting up of a federation if this is resolved by two-thirds of the members of each constituent union. In Case No. 50 the Government stated that this was not a restriction but " a procedural requirement intended to ensure that the majority shall not be dominated by a minority ", and the Committee accepted this explanation as not unreasonable " bearing in mind that the Turkish trade union movement is in its early stage of development ". The complainant considers that, as the Report of the Committee on Freedom of Employers' and Workers' Organisations revealed the existence in Turkey of 13 national, occupational and regional federations, with a total membership of 46,687, there seems to be no reason for maintaining a " procedural requirement " which constitutes a restriction of the right of organisations to draw up their own rules.
• Allegations relating to Supervision of Trade Unions by the Authorities
  277. 277 The complainant alleges that the provision in the Trade Union Act rendering trade unions liable to supervision by the Ministry of Labour, whatever assurances the Government may give as to its application, violates legally the basic principles of freedom of association.
• Allegations relating to the Prohibition of Strikes and Lockouts
  278. 278 Strikes and lockouts are prohibited by section 72 of the Labour Act, 1936. The complainant declares that the Committee has recognised on many occasions that the right to strike is a basic element of the right to organise and that the Turkish Government, which was elected in May 1950, based its political campaign mainly on the promise to establish the right to strike, this promise being repeated before the election in 1954.
• Allegations relating to the Government's Failure to Permit the General Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions to Affiliate with the I.C.F.T.U.
  279. 279 In the complaint annexed to its communication dated 29 August 1957 the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions refers in the first place to the observations and recommendations made by the Committee when it examined Case No. 50 relating to Turkey. The complainant recalls that in that case the Government stated, on 12 September 1952, that the provision in Turkish law regarding the consent of the Council of Ministers for the international affiliation of trade unions was intended to protect the Turkish trade union movement from certain political and ideological trends, but that no request for permission to affiliate with an international organisation had thus far been rejected. On 9 September 1952 the General Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions had decided to request permission to affiliate with the I.C.F.T.U, and the Committee, noting that discussions to this end were taking place between the two organisations, recommended the Governing Body to ask the Turkish Government to keep it informed as to the results of the discussions, the Governing Body adopting this recommendation at its 121st Session (Geneva, March 1953).
  280. 280 No information on this point, states the complainant, has been reported as having been received. In fact, it is alleged, the Government has systematically refused, since September 1952, to authorise the affiliation of the Turkish Con federation with the I.C.F.T.U, although the Turkish organisation has confirmed its decision in favour of affiliation at all its regular and extraordinary congresses since that time.
  281. 281 The complainant refers also to the statement on page 1399 of Appendix II to the Report of the Committee on Freedom of Employers' and Workers' Organisations (McNair Report) to the effect that the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions requested permission to affiliate with the I.C.F.T.U in 1952 but that no information was available to show that the request had or had not been granted.
  282. 282 The I.C.F.T.U states that it has made several approaches to the Government on this matter since 1952. More recently, in May 1956, the complainant claims to have received certain assurances from the Minister of Labour, but, nothing further having developed, the I.C.F.T.U wrote to the Prime Minister on 26 February and 27 May 1957. On 28 August 1957 the Turkish Embassy in Brussels wrote to the complainants, stating that it was not possible to give a favourable reply to the requests made in these letters as the provisions of Turkish legislation did not permit the General Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions to engage in political activities.
• Allegations relating to Other Restrictions on Trade Union Rights
  283. 283 In general terms, the complainant alleges that the legal provisions in Turkey concerning the setting up of trade unions, the representative capacity of organisations, the drafting of Constitutions and rules, the payment and collection of dues, etc., are contrary to the letter and spirit of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948, and refers to the fact that in Case No. 50, although the Government had not ratified this Convention, the Committee, " in view of the Government's comparison of its own legislation on many points at issue with the terms of the Convention ", had " considered it appropriate to bear in mind the principles laid down in the Convention when examining the various aspects of the case".
  284. 284 In conclusion, the complainant asks the Governing Body to state that the Government has completely disregarded the recommendations contained in paragraph 867 of the Committee's Sixth Report and had perpetuated a state of affairs which constitutes an infringement of freedom of association and trade union rights ; to urge the Government to permit the General Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions to affiliate with the I.C.F.T.U. ; to urge the Government to repeal its legislation so far as it conflicts with the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 ; and to urge the Government to allow the full exercise of trade union rights in Turkey.
• ANALYSIS OF THE REPLY
• Question as to the Competence of the Committee
  285. 285 In its communication dated 28 December 1957 the Government contests the competence of the Committee. Referring to articles 19 and 24 of the Constitution of the I.L.O, the Government declares that the only obligations imposed on member States are those which flow from Conventions which they have ratified. Turkey has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948. To entertain this complaint, therefore, would not, in the view of the Government, entail an examination of Turkish law in relation to a ratified and binding Convention, but would amount to an examination and criticism of Turkish legislation which the I.L.O is not competent to undertake. It is not compatible with juridical principles, declares the Government, to attribute to member States obligations other than those which flow from ratified Conventions. Having put forward these arguments, however, the Government proceeds to deal with the substance of the allegations made.
• Allegations relating to Restrictions on the Right to Organise
  286. 286 The Government confirms that article 70 of the Constitution of Turkey guarantees the right of association ; article 79 provides that the limits of this right will be prescribed by law ; article 103 provides that no law shall contain provisions contrary to the Constitution. This latter article, declares the Government, protects rights in general against arbitrary restrictions. The Government denies that its laws are incompatible with the Constitution, and claims that the right of association is assured in Turkey subject to the legal provision that any association is forbidden which seeks to harm the territorial, political and national integrity of the State, whose objects have a religious or sectarian basis, or which is clandestine or has regional aims or a regional title. Under the Trade Union Act, 1947, persons engaged in the same branch of activity may form trade unions. This right extends to persons employed in undertakings to which the Labour Code does not apply, as well as in those to which it does apply. By virtue of special laws the right to form trade unions under the 1947 Act has been extended to seafarers and journalists. Agricultural workers have the same right and have formed several trade unions.
• Allegations relating to Supervision of Trade Unions by the Authorities
  287. 287 The Government contends that the provision in section 11 of the Trade Union Act, 1947, to the effect that trade unions are subject to supervision by the Ministry of Labour does not restrict freedom of association but is intended to protect unions against financial wrongdoing. The Government adds that Circular No. 25 of 31 December 1951, issued by the Ministry of Labour, confirms that the said supervision shall be exercised only twice a year or when members lodge a complaint with the Ministry and solely for the purpose of preventing misappropriation of funds.
• Allegations relating to the Government's Failure to Permit the General Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions to Affiliate with the I.C.F.T.U.
  288. 288 The Government states that section 5 of the Trade Union Act, 1947, prohibits workers' organisations from engaging in political activities and makes their international affiliation subject to the consent of the Council of Ministers ; it repeats the assertion already made in the previous case relating to Turkey that the purpose of these provisions is to protect the trade unions against ideological and political movements and influences. After its decision in 1952 to adhere to the I.C.F.T.U, the General Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions applied for the necessary permission. The Ministry of Labour replied that first the Constitution and rules of the I.C.F.T.U should be read at a full congress of the Turkish organisation so that they would be known to the members. This was done at its congress in 1953, after which the organisation renewed its request for permission to affiliate. At the same time, states the Government, the Turkish organisation informed the I.C.F.T.U that its affiliation would be conditional on the exclusion of the question of Cyprus from the agenda of the I.C.F.T.U. Congress. This last question, according to the Government, has caused difficulties to arise between the two organisations.
  289. 289 The Government annexes to its reply what purports to be a copy of a letter dated 5 September 1957 from the General Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions to the I.C.F.T.U. In this communication it is recalled that the Turkish Confederation made its decision to affiliate dependent on the I.C.F.T.U excluding the question of Cyprus from its Congress agenda. It is then stated that the resolution on Cyprus adopted by the I.C.F.T.U at its Fifth World Congress favoured Greece and placed the Turkish organisation in an embarrassing position, and that it is in agreement with its Government that the solution to the Cyprus problem can be found only in partition. The Turkish Confederation declares itself, in this letter, to have been profoundly shaken by the I.C.F.T.U having adopted a prejudiced attitude on a controversial international political issue. The letter concludes with a formal protest against the terms of the I.C.F.T.U resolution.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

• Question as to the Competence of the Committee
  290. 290 In the Government's view the I.L.O is not competent to examine the laws of a country except within the scope of its Constitutional procedures relating to the application of Conventions. Moreover, states the Government, Turkey has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948, and it is not compatible with juridical principles to attribute to member States obligations other than those which flow from ratified Conventions.
  291. 291 In so far as the Government's arguments, taken in their general sense, may seem to question the general competence of the I.L.O to establish a fact-finding and conciliation procedure separate from the I.L.O Constitutional procedures relating to the application of Conventions, the Committee considers, as it has done in several previous cases', that in view of the decision taken on this matter by the International Labour Conference at its 33rd Session it is not called upon to examine further the question of the competence of the I.L.O to set up the procedure.
  292. 292 More specifically, the Government raises the issue that, in effect, the complainant is asking the Committee to examine allegations based in essence on the non-application of the provisions of a Convention which Turkey has not ratified and which the Government is therefore under no legal obligation to apply. A similar argument was raised by the Government of the Union of South Africa in Case No. 102. The Committee expressed its views on this issue in paragraphs 130 and 131 of its 15th Report, as follows:
  130. 130 The Committee considers it appropriate to point out that the Declaration of Philadelphia, which now constitutes an integral part of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation and in which the aims and purposes set forth are among those for the promotion of which the Organisation exists in virtue of article 1 of the Constitution, as amended in 1946, recognises " the solemn obligation of the International Labour Organisation to further among the nations of the world programmes which will achieve ... the effective recognition of the right of collective bargaining, the co-operation of management and labour in the continuous improvement of productive efficiency, and the collaboration of workers and employers in the preparation and application of social and economic measures ". The Declaration affirms that the principles set forth therein " ... are fully applicable to all peoples everywhere and that, while the manner of their application must be determined with due regard to the stage of social and economic development reached by each people, their progressive application to peoples which are still dependent, as well as to those who have already achieved self-government, is a matter of concern to the whole civilised world ".
  131. 131 In these circumstances, the Committee considers it appropriate that it should, in discharging the responsibility to promote these principles which has been entrusted to it, be guided in its task, among other things, by the provisions relating thereto approved by the Conference and embodied in the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), which afford a standard of comparison when examining particular allegations, more particularly as Members of the Organisation have an obligation under article 19 (5) (e) of the Constitution to report to the Director-General of the International Labour Office, at appropriate intervals as requested by the Governing Body, the position of its law and practice in regard to the matters dealt with in unratified Conventions, showing the extent to which effect has been given, or is proposed to be given, to any of the provisions of the Convention by legislation, administrative action, collective agreement or otherwise and stating the difficulties which prevent or delay the ratification of such Conventions. The Government of the Union of South Africa is one of the governments which have complied with this obligation at the request of the Governing Body in respect of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948, (No. 87). The Committee therefore considers that, while recognising that the provisions of the Conventions are not binding upon the Union of South Africa, it should examine the allegations relating to these Conventions made in the present case with a view to ascertaining the facts and reporting them to the Governing Body.
• Turkey also is a Government which has complied with the obligation under article 19 (5) (e), by reporting, at the request of the Governing Body, on the position of its law and practice in respect of the matters dealt with in the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948. Following the precedent established in Case No. 102, the Committee considers in the present case that, while recognising that the provisions of the said Convention are not binding upon Turkey, it should examine the allegations relating to the Convention made in the present case with a view to ascertaining the facts and reporting them to the Governing Body.
  293. 293 The Committee notes with satisfaction that the Government has seen fit, after putting forward the foregoing arguments, to present its observations on the principal allegations made in the complaint.
• Allegations relating to Restrictions on the Right to Organise
  294. 294 The allegations in the present case relate to the organising rights of certain categories of employees and, particularly, to the less advantageous position of employees whose work is purely intellectual. Similar allegations, in greater detail, were examined by the Committee in Case No. 50 relating to Turkey. The Committee noted on that occasion that non-manual workers and employees of small businesses in fact had the right to form associations of the character of trade unions for the protection of their economic interests and for determining their wages and conditions of employment by means of collective agreements, but that these associations might be at some disadvantage in certain other respects compared with unions already within the Trade Union Act, 1947 ; the Committee also noted, however, that legislative amendments were being contemplated. In its report dated 2 June 1956 on the effect given to the unratified Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Government stated that it intended to adopt measures as soon as possible to give full effect to some of the provisions of the Convention not yet covered by national legislation. In 1957 the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations noted a statement by the Government in its report on the application of the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), ratified by Turkey, that it intended to propose new legislative measures for the purpose of protecting purely intellectual workers against acts of anti-union discrimination, while the Conference Committee on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations also noted a statement by a Turkish Government representative at the 40th Session of the International Labour Conference that a Bill was at present being studied which dealt with the conditions of employment of intellectual workers. It would not seem from the Government's reply in the present case that any material changes in these respects have occurred. In these circumstances, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to request the Government to inform it as to the progress made in the light of the Government's previously expressed statements that legislative amendments were being contemplated.
• Allegations relating to Restrictions on the Establishment of Federations
  295. 295 As in Case No. 50, it is alleged that the requirement as to the consent of two-thirds of the members of the constituent unions being necessary for the Constitution of a federation places a restriction on the right of organisations to draw up their own rules. In the present case the Government does not reply to this allegation, but in Case No. 50 the Government stated that this was merely a non-restrictive procedural requirement intended to ensure that the majority should not be dominated by a minority. The Committee then took the view that, bearing in mind the early stage of development of the Turkish trade union movement, this requirement was not unreasonable and did not in practice unduly restrict the right to form federations. The complainant now states, and the Government does not deny the fact, that Turkey now has 13 trade union federations, with 46,687 members. A finding by the Committee that a particular requirement is not unreasonable at a given stage of development clearly does not preclude further consideration of the extent to which such a requirement continues to be justified if the matter arises again after the lapse of a reasonable interval. In the present case five years have elapsed since the matter was previously considered. In these circumstances the Committee, without expressing any view on the substance at this stage, recommends the Governing Body to request the Government for its observations concerning the suggestion made by the complainants that the Turkish trade union movement has now reached such a stage of development that the manner of providing for affiliation to federations might be left to be decided freely by trade unions in their Constitutions and rules.
• Allegations relating to Supervision of Trade Unions by the Authorities
  296. 296 Allegations relating to this question in far greater detail were dealt with by the Committee in Case No. 50. The Committee then came to the conclusion that the Government had applied the relevant legal provisions, in practice, only to such a degree as to ensure that certain offences such as abuse of funds should not take place while the trade union movement was in its early stages of development and not in such a manner as to restrict in practice the exercise of trade union rights. In the present case the Government states that supervision is exercised only twice a year or when members lodge a complaint with the Ministry of Labour, and then only for the purpose of preventing misappropriation of funds. In these circumstances, the Committee considers that there is no ground for modifying its previous conclusions with regard to this aspect of the situation.
• Allegations relating to the Effects of the Prohibition of Strikes and Lockouts on Freedom of Association
  297. 297 The Government makes no reply in the present case to the allegation that strikes and lockouts are still prohibited in spite of promises to establish the right to strike stated to have been made in the election campaigns of 1950 and 1954. When it examined allegations relating to the prohibition of strikes in Case No. 50 the Committee noted a statement by the Government in its reply in that case that a Bill had been prepared to recognise the right to strike for non-political purposes within the framework of compulsory conciliation but voluntary arbitration. In these circumstances, considering that allegations relating to prohibitions of the right to strike are not outside its competence in so far as such prohibitions affect the exercise of trade union rights, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to request the Government to inform it as to what progress has been made towards enacting the Bill in question.
• Allegations relating to the Government's Failure to Permit the General Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions to Affiliate with the I.C.F.T.U.
  298. 298 The complainant alleges that since 1952 the Government of Turkey has refused to grant the General Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions, despite repeated requests both by the Confederation and by the I.C.F.T.U, permission to affiliate with the I.C.F.T.U. In fact, the complainant alleges, no reply could be obtained from the Government on this matter until the Turkish Ambassador in Brussels wrote to the complainant on 28 August 1957 stating that a favourable reply could not be given because Turkish law did not permit Turkish trade unions to engage in political activities. The Government declares that the purpose of this prohibition, contained in section 5 of the Trade Union Act, 1947, is to protect the trade unions against ideological and political movements and influences. In support of its attitude, the Government forwards a copy of a letter written to the I.C.F.T.U by the General Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions, in which the latter recalls that its intention to affiliate with the I.C.F.T.U was conditional on the I.C.F.T.U keeping the question of Cyprus off its Congress agenda and deplores the terms of a resolution on Cyprus adopted by that Congress and with the contents of which the Turkish unions, like their Government, cannot agree.
  299. 299 When it examined an allegation on the same issue in Case No. 50 relating to Turkey the Committee expressed the view that the legal requirement of the authorisation of international trade union affiliation by the Council of Ministers may be incompatible with the principle of free and voluntary affiliation of trade unions with international organisations. Noting in that case, however, the Government's statement that no request for authorisation had ever been refused and that discussions with a view to affiliation were proceeding between the two organisations concerned, the Committee considered that in practice no infringement of trade union rights had occurred. In adopting the report of the Committee, the Governing Body requested the Government to be good enough to keep it informed as to the outcome of these discussions.
  300. 300 Five years have now elapsed since the Committee examined Case No. 50 but no information has been presented by the Government on this point as requested by the Governing Body and the permission to affiliate has not been granted. Now the Government appears to imply that permission is still withheld mainly because of the fact that Turkish trade unions are prohibited from engaging in political activities and the I.C.F.T.U has adopted a resolution concerning Cyprus with which both the Government and the General Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions disagree.
  301. 301 In certain previous cases, in addition to Case No. 50 relating to Turkey (see paragraph 299 above), the Committee has emphasised the importance which it attaches to the principle that organisations should have the right to affiliate freely with international organisations of workers or employers. In these cases, however, except for the case relating to Brazil, the issues raised were not related to the right of international affiliation but to instances of alleged infringements of various aspects of the corollary right-not raised in the present case-to maintain contact with an international organisation to which a national organisation was already affiliated. In Case No. 11 relating to Brazil, however, the actual affiliation of national trade unions to international organisations was in issue and, as in the present case, such affiliation required prior consent by an authority-in Brazil it was the National Congress which was empowered to give or withhold consent. In that case, on the recommendation of the Committee, the Governing Body suggested to the Government that it should examine certain aspects of its legislation-including the provisions regarding the affiliation of organisations with international organisations of workers and employers-in the light of the principles laid down in the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948, and with a view to considering the possibility of ratifying that Convention.
  302. 302 In comparison with the case relating to Brazil, however, the present case is complicated by the political issue raised by the Government. This is twofold. In the Turkish Ambassador's letter the implication is that the general prohibition of political activities by Turkish trade unions is the reason why permission to affiliate has been withheld. In the Government's reply the consideration is adduced that the Turkish Confederation expressed to the I.C.F.T.U its intention of affiliating only if the I.C.F.T.U kept the specific political issue of Cyprus off its Congress agenda, and deplored the fact that the I.C.F.T.U. Congress adopted a resolution on this issue with which neither the Turkish Government nor the Turkish trade unions were in agreement.
  303. 303 The Committee considers that when a national organisation seeks to affiliate with an international organisation of workers the question as to what conditions the national organisation attaches to its application and the question as to whether it agrees or disagrees with the international organisation in its attitude to any political matter are questions which concern only the respective organisations themselves, and that, while disagreement may influence the national organisation in deciding whether to seek, maintain or withdraw from international affiliation, it should not form a basis for government intervention.
  304. 304 It is on the issue of the influence of general political considerations that the Committee has, in the past, recognised that some difficulty may arise. The Committee has experienced this difficulty not where the general principle of the right to affiliate is concerned but in connection with the exercise of corollary rights and, in particular, the right of national trade union delegates to attend meetings of their international organisation. In Case No. 40 relating to Tunisia the Committee emphasised that participation in international organisations must be based on the principle of the independence of the trade union movement as defined in the resolution adopted by the International Labour Conference in 1952. In Case No. 77 relating to various French African Territories, the situation had to be considered in relation to the statement by the French Government that its reason for refusing passports to nationals wishing to attend a congress of their international organisation was not a wish to place direct restrictions on trade union rights but a wish to prevent them having contact on the occasion in question with the leaders of an organisation whose political activities had caused it to be prohibited from having its headquarters in France. Although in these cases the question was linked with a disturbed political situation in the territories in which the national trade union organisations operated, the Committee, while bearing in mind the importance of having regard to the Conference resolution referred to above, still insisted on the importance of applying the principle that national organisations should have the right to affiliate with international organisations. In the present case, while the Government declares that the purpose of requiring previous consent for the international affiliation of the Turkish trade unions is to protect them against certain international political trends, there would seem to be no evidence that the present withholding of consent is linked with any state of serious political disturbance in Turkey or that the Turkish trade unions, if affiliated to the I.C.F.T.U, would be in danger of losing their independence. In fact, the copy of the letter from the Turkish Confederation to the I.C.F.T.U would seem to indicate the strongly independent attitude of the Turkish Confederation in relation to I.C.F.T.U policy on any particular issue.
  305. 305 In these circumstances, the Committee considers that the question of the affiliation of the General Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions should be primarily one for discussion and negotiation between these organisations. The Committee therefore recommends the Governing Body to draw the attention of the Government of Turkey to the importance which it attaches to the generally accepted principle that workers' and employers' organisations should have the right to affiliate with international organisations of workers and employers, and to suggest to the Government that it should give further consideration to the matter ; in so doing, the Committee draws attention to the principles enunciated in the resolution adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 35th Session (1952) that the fundamental and permanent mission of the trade union movement is the social and economic advancement of the workers, and that any political relations or action undertaken by trade unions in accordance with the national law and practice of their respective countries should not be of such a nature as to compromise the continuance of the trade union movement or its social or economic functions.
• Allegations relating to Other Restrictions on Trade Union Rights
  306. 306 These allegations, which consist only of a general reference, relate to matters which the Committee examined in detail in Case No. 50 and which were covered by the general conclusions in that case. In these circumstances, the Committee considers that it is not called upon to pursue these aspects of the matter further.