9.3 Resolution No. 22 of 16 July 1997, as amended by resolution No. 27/98,
indicates the following: "The Municipal Council cannot agree with
accommodation of the Roma citizens in the cadastral territory of Nagov, as
they do not have any ownership rights, nor origin, nor accommodation, nor
jobs (employment) in the settlement of Nagov."
Examination of the merits
10.1 Having received the full texts of resolutions 21 and 22 the Committee
finds that, although their wording refers explicitly to Romas previously
domiciled in the concerned municipalities, the context in which they were
adopted clearly indicates that other Romas would have been equally
prohibited from settling, which represented a violation of article 5 (d) (i) of
the Convention.
10.2 The Committee notes, however, that the resolutions in question were
rescinded in April 1999. It also notes that freedom of movement and
residence is guaranteed under article 23 of the Constitution of the Slovak
Republic.
10.3 The Committee recommends that the State party take the necessary
measures to ensure that practices restricting the freedom of movement and
residence of Romas under its jurisdiction are fully and promptly eliminated.
Notes
1. In so doing the author relies upon jurisprudence of the European
Commission on Human Rights, in particular its decision in East African
Asians v. United Kingdom, in which the Commission found that challenged
immigration legislation had publicly subjected the applicants to racial
discrimination and constituted an interference with their human dignity,
amounting to "degrading treatment" in the sense of article 3 of the European
Convention on Human Rights.
2. Pursuant to section 30, paragraph 1.2 of this Act, the prosecutor shall,
upon his own initiative or upon a petition, review the procedure or decisions
by public administrative bodies, decisions of a court, prosecutor, investigator
or police body for compliance with the law. The person who filed the petition
may request a review as to the lawfulness of its processing with a repeated
petition which shall be processed by the superior body.
Pursuant to section 11 of the same Act, prosecutors shall file protests against
generally binding pieces of legislation, municipal binding regulations,
guidelines, amendments, resolutions, other legal acts and decisions by public
administrative bodies issued in individual cases which violate the law. If the