CCPR/C/72/D/884/1999 page 6 Commission’s decision to strike her off the list of candidates. Counsel acknowledges that Ms. Ignatane certainly challenged the legality of the Electoral Commission’s decision, but states that the only ground for that decision was the SLB’s conclusion that her proficiency in Latvian did not meet the requirement for the highest level of aptitude. Therefore, according to counsel, the author challenged the legality of the decision by the Election Commission to strike her name from the list of election candidates, which was taken on the basis of the SLB’s conclusion. 5.2 Counsel points out that the phrasing used by the State party - “the required third (highest) level to stand for election” - is open to misinterpretation. According to counsel, Latvian electoral law has no requirement for any special level of proficiency in the State language purely in order to stand for election; it is only the regulations on the certification of proficiency in the State language for employment that indicate the three levels required for various positions and professions, and the language aptitude certificate showing level 1, 2 or 3 proficiency in the State language is general in scope. 5.3 With regard to the State party’s assertion that the relevant electoral law complies with the requirements of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as provided in the General Comment on article 25, counsel states that the conditions contained in article 9, paragraph 7, and article 22, paragraph 8, of the Law in question are not based on objective and reasonable criteria, as required by the Human Rights Committee’s General Comment on non-discrimination. 5.4 According to article 9, paragraph 7, of the Law, persons whose proficiency in the State language does not meet the requirements of the highest level (level 3) may not be nominated as candidates for local council elections and may not be elected to councils. According to article 22, paragraph 8, a candidate may be struck off the list if his or her language skills do not meet the requirements of proficiency level 3 in the State language, on the basis of an opinion of the State Language Board. According to counsel, in practice, that provision is open to a practically infinite range of interpretations and opens the door to totally discretionary and arbitrary decisions. 5.5 Counsel then addresses the State party’s point that an election candidate is given a language examination if complaints have been received. If no complaints have been received, the SLB should submit opinions on every candidate, in the form of an authentication of the copy of each candidate’s Latvian language aptitude certificate. Counsel maintains that an unsupported statement that complaints had been made about a candidate and the results of the subsequent examination, which was conducted by a single examiner, a senior inspector at the State Language Inspectorate, cannot be described as objective criteria. The full powers given to a senior inspector are not commensurate with the consequences they give rise to, i.e. the disqualification of an election candidate. Such an approach to the verification of proficiency in the State language makes it possible, if need be, to disqualify all candidates representing a minority. 5.6 Counsel goes on to describe the conditions in which the examination was carried out. Ms. Ignatane was at work, when the German lesson she was giving to a class of schoolchildren was interrupted and she was required to do a written exercise in Latvian. The examination was carried out by an inspector in the presence of two witnesses, who were teachers employed at the