Doc. 9653

16 January 2003

Conscientious objection in Greece and Finland

Written Question No 417 to the Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers

Reply from the Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers

adopted at the 823^rd meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (9 January 2003)

I. Written Question No 417 by Lord Russell-Johnston (Doc. 9580)

To ask the Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers,

If she is aware that in two member states the law is very oppressive in respect of those who object to military service for reasons of conscience:

a. in respect of Greece, while alternative service is provided for it lasts 36 months instead of the 18 months required for military service, which is punitive.

b. in respect of Finland, military service lasts for 180 days (6 months) but alternative service for 395 days (13 months), which is even more oppressive.¹

What action does the Committee of Ministers propose to persuade these two countries to adopt fairer legislation?

II. Reply by the Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers

1. The Chairman of the Committee of Ministers recalls that as far as Greece is concerned, the length of alternative service has been examined by the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) in the context of a complaint against Greece under the 1995 Additional Protocol to the European Social Charter providing for a system of collective complaints (complaint No. 8/2000). The ECSR considered that the additional 18 months civilian service performed by conscientious objectors in Greece were months during which the persons concerned are denied the right to earn their living in an occupation freely entered upon and was unreasonable when compared to the duration of military service. It therefore concluded that this additional duration amounted to a disproportionate restriction on “the right of the worker to earn his living in an occupation freely entered upon”, and was contrary to Article 1 para. 2 of the Charter.

2. On 6 March 2002, the Committee of Ministers adopted Resolution ResChs(2002)3 in which it noted that the Greek Government had:

- circulated the report of the European Committee of Social Rights to the competent authorities including the Parliament and translated it into Greek;

- taken certain measures including the revision of the Greek Constitution (Official Gazette 84/4/17-4-2001) and the decrease of the length of military service (Official Gazette 1407 – 22 October 2001);

- undertaken to take the matter into consideration with a view to bringing the situation into conformity with the Charter in good time.

3. The duration of the military service in Finland is either 180, 270 or 362 days. Even if a conscript can often chose to serve 180 days, he can be ordered to serve the longer service. Those having leadership education serve 362 days. The average length of military service is approximately 8,5 months. In addition, a conscript can be ordered to take a military refresher course (40-100 days). At the moment approximately 50 per cent of the conscripts serve the shorter service and 35 per cent serve the longer one. The length of alternative service in Finland is currently 395 days.

4. The Chairman would point out that, in its reply to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1518 (2001) on the exercise of the right to conscientious objection to military service in the member states, the Committee of Ministers stated that it agreed with the Assembly that alternative service should be neither deterrent nor punitive in character. But it also stated that ”it would like to underline that, in certain cases, the less onerous duties of civilian service may justify a longer duration than that of military service.” It considered that ”member states must enjoy a certain discretion in deciding on the length and organisation of the alternative service.”

¹ See PR\466018EN.doc - 33/70 - PE 311.039 citant AI, Concerns 2002, p. 101.