"RELATING TO CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE LAWS ON THE USE OF LANGUAGES
IN EDUCATION IN BELGIUM" v. BELGIUM (MERITS) JUDGMENT
81
issued by the Belgian authorities, do not have access to public office or to
certain professions" which are reserved to Belgian nationals.
In any case, the Government’s argument lacks foundation in "relation to
Article 14 (art. 14)". "In the light of this Article (art. 14)", an examination
must be made as to whether "enjoyment of the right to education is secured
to all without discrimination". Now the Commission believes that, in
conducting this examination, it "cannot ignore the fact" that "in Belgium",
French "is one of the official languages" and "the maternal or usual
language of nearly half" of the population. In its opinion, the Belgian State
could "rely upon very good grounds for not recognising education" received
in Belgium "in Italian or Polish private schools": it would have first to
introduce "school inspection" which would entail "appreciable
administrative difficulties and financial burdens". "Moreover", the Belgian
State "might have good reasons for considering it undesirable that a
completely foreign language should take root in its territory". From this the
Commission concludes that "from the standpoint of Article 14 (art. 14)",
"there may be valid reasons, eliminating the idea of discrimination, for not
granting to the schools of foreign communities the same treatment" as to
schools "established by Belgian nationals for Belgian nationals in which
education is given in one of the national languages". In the present case, the
only "relevant" comparison is that between the legal situation of the
"French-speaking community" and the "Dutch-speaking community".
Consequently the refusal of homologation appears to be "irreconcilable
with Article 2 of the Protocol read in conjunction with Article 14 (art.
14+P1-2) of the Convention". In so far as it applies to certificates covering
schooling not in conformity "on all points" with the "legal requirements
with regard to the language of instruction", this refusal amounts to a
"hardship based solely on language and thus contrary to Article 14 (art.
14)". The granting of homologation in no way constitutes a "privilege" or a
"favour", but "merely the confirmation of regular schooling", "the normal
consequence of education received in a secondary school, provided of
course that the school satisfies the law’s academic requirements". By
depriving "certain citizens", "for purely linguistic reasons" and for reasons
"quite extraneous to actual educational requirements", of the benefit of
education received, the Belgian State has established a "discrimination"
incompatible with Article 14 (art. 14).
Four members of the Commission, however, find no violation on the
point under consideration: the Commission draws the attention of the Court
to their dissenting opinions.
4. Decision of the Court
42. The provisions of the Acts of 1932 and 1963 which provided for or
still provide for the refusal of homologation of certificates relating to
secondary schooling not in conformity with the language requirements in