6
"RELATING TO CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE LAWS ON THE USE OF LANGUAGES
IN EDUCATION IN BELGIUM" v. BELGIUM (MERITS) JUDGMENT
Convention, in so far as they forbid the establishment or subsidising by the State of
any schools which do not comply with the language legislation.
(4) The 1963 Acts are not contrary to Article 2, first sentence, of the Protocol, read
in conjunction with Article 14 (art. 14+P1-2) of the Convention, in so far as they result
in the total withdrawal of subsidies from schools that, while they have sections in
which tuition is given in the regional language, also provide complete or partial
education in another language.
(5) The system introduced by the Act of 2nd August 1963 in the communes on the
periphery of Brussels, including Kraainem, is not incompatible with Article 2, first
sentence, of the Protocol, read in conjunction with Article 14 (art. 14+P1-2) of the
Convention.
(6) The residence conditions laid down in the 1963 Acts for admission to the
French-language schools at Louvain and in the communes on the periphery of
Brussels, including Kraainem, are compatible with Article 2, first sentence, of the
Protocol, read in conjunction with Article 14 (art. 14+P1-2) of the Convention.
(7) The provisions of the 1932 and 1963 Acts are compatible with Article 2, first
sentence, of the Protocol, read in conjunction with Article 14 (art. 14+P1-2) of the
Convention, in so far as they result in the refusal of homologation of secondary school
leaving certificates for the sole reason that the schooling covered by them has not been
in accordance with the requirements of the language legislation.
The Belgian Government reserves the right to add to or modify these conclusions in
the course of the proceedings".
- by the Commission in its memorial of 12th July 1967 and, in almost
identical terms, in that of 17th December 1965, prior to the judgment of 9th
February 1967:
"As it recalled in its memorial of 17th December 1965, the Commission acts in the
general interest and not, strictly speaking, as plaintiff vis-à-vis the High Contracting
Party against which the Applications submitted to it for appraisal are directed.
It therefore once more formulates its conclusions interrogatively and invites the
Court to decide whether or not the legislation of which the Applicants complain
satisfies the requirements of:
(a) the first sentence of Article 2 of the Protocol (P1-2), considered in isolation;
(b) the second sentence of that Article (P1-2), considered in isolation;
(c) Article 8 (art. 8) of the Convention, considered in isolation;
(d) the first sentence of Article 2 of the Protocol read in conjunction with Article 14
(art. 14+P1-2) of the Convention;
(e) the second sentence of Article 2 of the Protocol, read in conjunction with Article
14 (art. 14+P1-2) of the Convention;
(f) Article 8 of the Convention, read in conjunction with Article 14 (art. 14+8).