provided f~r in article 27 of the Covenant, and whether section 12, paragraph 2, of the 1911 R_indeer Husbandry Act, under which an appeal a9ainst a decision of a Semi community to refuse membership may only be granted if there are special reasons for allowing such membership, violates article 27 of the Covenant, the Committee bales ite findings on the following considerations. 9.2 The regulation of an economic activity is normally a matter for the State alone. However, where that activity is an essential element in the culture of an ethnic co~unity, its application to an individual may fall under article 21 of the covenant, which providesl "In those exist, persons community with to profess and States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, practise their own religion, or to use their own language." 9.3 The Committee observes, in this context, that the right to enjoy one's own culture in community with the other members of the group cannot be determined iu-ab.traclo but has to be placed in context. The Committee is thus called upon to consider statutory restrictions affer-ting the right of an ethnic Semi to membership of a Semi vi~lage. 9.4 with regard to the State party's argument that the conflict in the present case is not 80 much a conflict between the author as a Semi and the State party, but l'ather between the author and the Semi communi ty (see para. 4.3 above), the Committee observes that lhe State party's responsibility has been engaged, by virtue of the adoption of the Reindeer Husbandry Act of 1911, and that it is therefore State actIon that has been challenged. As the State party itself points out, an appeal against a decision of the Sarni community to refuse membership can only be granted if there are special reasons fOI allowing such membershipl furthermore, the State party acknowl dges that th_ right of the Landsstyrelsen to grant such an appeal should be exercised very restrictively. 9.5 According to the State party, the purposes of the Reindeer Husbandry Act are to restrict the number of reindeer breeders for economic and ecological reasons and to secure the preservation and well-being of the Sarni minority. Both partie~ agree that effective measures are required to ensure the future of reindeer breeding and the livelihood of those for whom reindeer farming is the primary source of in(~ome. The method selected by the State party to secure these objectives is the limitation of the right to engage in reindeer breeding to members of the Sarni villages. The Committee is of the opinion that all these objectives and measures are reasonable and consistent with article 27 of the Covenant. 9.6 The Conmittee has none the les8 had grave doubts as to whether certain provisions of the Reindeer Husbandry Act, and their application to the author, are compatibl~ ~ith article 27 of the Covenant. Section 11 of the Reindeer Husbandry Act provides thatl "A member of a Semi community iSI "1. A porson entitled to engage in reindeer husbandry who participates in reindeer husbandry within the pasture area of the community. -229-