- 20 - members of their group, to use their own language. Indeed, it would be stretching the language of Article 27 too far to suggest, as the Committee might in effect be perceived to have done, that public authorities must make it possible to use a non- official language (Afrikaans) in official business when the official language is different. In this regard it is to be observed that the Committee itself finds in paragraph 10.9 that the authors have not shown how the use of English during Court proceedings has affected their right to a fair hearing. And a fair hearing requires that a person understands what is happening in court so as to brief his or her legal representative appropriately in the conduct of his or her case. 6. But it may very well be said that the gravamen of the reasoning of the Committee lies in that part of the finding which is to the effect that the circular is “targeted” against the possibility of using Afrikaans in official business. I am unable to follow this reasoning. 7. First, “targeted” connotes aiming at one particular object from among other objects: in this case singling out at “Afrikaans” from other non-official languages for the purpose of affording it discriminatory treatment. It may very well be said that in assimilating Afrikaans to a “tribal” language, the circular was perhaps unintentionally derogatory of Afrikaans. However, a reasonable construction of the circular would suggest that a difference was being made essentially between the official language and all unofficial languages. 8. Secondly, of course, the circular specifically mentions Afrikaans. The reason is stated in the first paragraph of the circular. The important point, however, is that neither the complaint of the authors nor the terms of the circular suggest that a more favourable treatment was being given to other unofficial languages. Indeed, the terms of the circular suggest quite the contrary. In my view, therefore, there is no basis for a finding of discriminatory treatment in violation of Article 26. 9. The real complaint of the authors with regard to Article 26, when seen in the context of their other complaints, would suggest that they still hanker after the privileged and exclusive status they previously enjoyed in matters of occupation of land, self-government and use of language under a system of fragmented self-governments which apartheid permitted. Such a system no longer avails under the unified nation which the Constitution of their country has created. (Signed) R. Lallah [Done in English, French and Spanish, the English text being the original version. Subsequently issued also in Arabic, Chinese and Russian as part of the present report.]