"RELATING TO CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE LAWS ON THE USE OF LANGUAGES IN EDUCATION IN BELGIUM" v. BELGIUM (MERITS) JUDGMENT 3 University Institute of Advanced International Studies, Geneva, Counsel; Mr. A. VANDER STICHELE, Assistant to the Auditeur général of the Belgian Conseil d’État, Expert; The Court heard statements and submissions: - for the Commission by MM. F. WELTER and M. SØRENSEN; - for the Belgian Government by Me. A. BAYART, Mr. P. GUGGENHEIM and Mr. A. DE GRANGES DE SURGERES. The Court also put a number of questions to those appearing before it, to which the latter replied verbally on 29th and 30th November. On 30th November, the President declared the hearing closed. 8. The Court met in private on 30th November and 1st December 1967. On 1st December, it instructed the Registrar - who carried out the order on 5th December - to ask the Belgian Government and Commission for additional information concerning, on the one hand, the situation with regard to unsubsidised establishments in the Dutch-language area which provide French-language education. The replies from both the Belgian Government and the Commission reached the Registrar on 10th January 1968. The Government made certain additions to its reply in March 1968. 9. After further deliberation the Court pronounced the present judgment. THE FACTS 1. The object of the Commission’s request is to submit the case to the Court, so that the Court may decide whether or not certain provisions of the Belgian linguistic legislation relating to education are in conformity with the requirements of Articles 8 and 14 (art. 8, art. 14) of the Convention and Article 2 of the Protocol of 20th March 1952 (hereinafter referred to as "the Protocol") (P1-2). 2. The Applicants, who are parents of families of Belgian nationality, applied to the Commission both on their own behalf and on behalf of their children under age, of whom there are more than 800. Pointing out that they are French-speaking or that they express themselves most frequently in French, they want their children to be educated in that language. Alsemberg, Beersel, Antwerp, Ghent, Louvain and Vilvorde, where the signatories of five of the six applications (Nos. 1474/62, 1691/62, 1769/63, 1994/63 and 2126/64) live, belong to the region considered by law as Dutch-speaking, whereas Kraainem (Application No. 1677/62) has since 1963 formed part of a separate administrative district with a "special status".