Z, Communication No. 448/1991. H.J.H. v. the Netherlands (decision of 7 November 1991* adopted at the forty-third session) Submitted by: H.J.H. (name deleted) Alleged victim; The author State party. The Netherlands Date of communication: 30 April 1990 The Human Rights Committee, established under article 28 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights/ Meeting on 7 November 1991, Adopts the following: Decision on admissibility 1. The author of the communication, dated 30 April 1990, is H.J.H., a citizen of the Netherlands born on 12 October 1948, residing in Putten, the Netherlands. He claims to be a victim of a violation by the Netherlands of article 14, paragraph 2, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Facts as submitted by the author 2.1 The legislation of the Netherlands governing the registration and circulation of motor vehicles obliges car owners to display, on the windscreen of their cars, a disc proving that the vehicle is duly registered. On 25 June 1985, the author was fined for having displayed a disc that was no longer valid. He appealed to the District Tribunal (JVrrondissementsrechtsbank) of Zwolle, which declared the earlier decision null and void and adopted another one, which sentenced the author to pay a fine of 75 Netherlands guilders. His appeal to the Supreme Court (Hoqe Raad der Nederlanden) was dismissed on 3 March 1987. 2.2 The author submitted his case to the European Commission of Human Rights, where he argued that his conviction constituted a violation of the principle of presumption of innocence (art. 6, para. 2, of the European Convention). On 13 July 1989, the European Commission declared his communication inadmissible as "manifestly ill-founded", pursuant to article 27, paragraph 2, of the European Convention, Complaint 3. The author contends that, by requiring car owners to display a disc on their vehicles, the legislation of the Netherlands is actually forcing them to prove that they are not in violation of the rules governing registration of motor vehicles. The obligation to prove one's innocence constitutes, in the author's opinion, a violation of the presumption of innocence under article 14, paragraph 2, of the Covenant. -428-