ABSTRACT
Article 1 of the Optional Protocol (O.P.) states that the Committee is competent to receive and consider communications from individuals subject to its jurisdiction who claim to be victims of a violation by a State Party of 'the rights set forth in the Covenant'. Communications which relate to violations of rights not included in the Covenant are normally declared inadmissible ratione materiae as being 'incompatible with the provisions of the Covenant' under article 3 of the O.P. The Committee uses article 3 of the O.P. to reject cases when it is clear that even if the facts were proved there could be no violation of a right protected by the Covenant. The Committee must examine the scope of the protection of the Covenant in order to reach an inadmissibility decision. The Government could envisage the admissibility under the O.P. of a complaint concerning discrimination in the field of taxation.
