Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

1. Article 1(c) and (d) of the Convention. In its previous direct request the Committee asked the Government to provide information on the practical application of section 283 of the Penal Code under which anyone who, without creating a situation of general danger, prevents, disrupts or obstructs the normal operation of transport, public communications, or the supply of water, electricity or any other source of power, shall be punished by a custodial sentence of not less than two years and not more than four years. The Committee observed that under section 65 of the Code for the Execution of Sentences, custodial sentences involve compulsory labour.

2. The Committee notes that, according to the Government's report, under the terms of section 135(2) of the new Code of Criminal Procedure, the custodial sentence for an offence must be more than four years for a judge to be able to issue a detention order, which therefore cannot be issued for an offence under section 283 of the Penal Code. Therefore, according to the Government, section 283 of the Penal Code is not in contravention of the Convention because persons who contravene section 283 are not liable to imprisonment, given that the sentence applicable must be more than four years for it to become effective. With regard to section 65 of the Code for the Execution of Sentences the Committee notes the Government's information to the effect that the purpose of the provision is not to allow forced labour in contravention of the relevant Conventions, but rather to punish offences and at the same time to rehabilitate the prisoner with a view to his ultimate reintegration in society as a useful citizen.

3. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the specific circumstances in which compulsory labour can be exacted and whether the exaction of compulsory labour is always the result of a conviction in a court of law, or whether compulsory labour can be exacted for infringements of labour discipline within the public services considered essential. Please provide copies of any court decisions in this area.