50 CATAN AND OTHERS v. MOLDOVA AND RUSSIA JUDGMENT limitations are permitted by implication since the right of access “by its very nature calls for regulation by the State” (see Case “relating to certain aspects of the laws on the use of languages in education in Belgium”, cited above, § 3). In order to ensure that the restrictions that are imposed do not curtail the right in question to such an extent as to impair its very essence and deprive it of its effectiveness, the Court must satisfy itself that they are foreseeable for those concerned and pursue a legitimate aim. However, unlike the position with respect to Articles 8 to 11 of the Convention, it is not bound by an exhaustive list of “legitimate aims” under Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 (see, mutatis mutandis, Podkolzina v. Latvia, no. 46726/99, § 36, ECHR 2002-II). Furthermore, a limitation will only be compatible with Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 if there is a reasonable relationship of proportionality between the means employed and the aim sought to be achieved (Leyla Şahin, cited above, § 154). Although the final decision as to the observance of the Convention’s requirements rests with the Court, the Contracting States enjoy a certain margin of appreciation in this sphere. This margin of appreciation increases with the level of education, in inverse proportion to the importance of that education for those concerned and for society at large (see Ponomaryovi v. Bulgaria, no. 5335/05, § 56, ECHR 2011). 2. Whether there has been a violation of the applicants’ right to education in the present case 141. The Court notes that neither of the respondent Governments have challenged the applicants’ allegations about the closure of the schools. Indeed, the core events of 2002 and 2004 were monitored and documented by a number of international organisations, including the OSCE (see paragraph 66 above). The applicants further complain that, although the schools were subsequently allowed to reopen, their buildings were commandeered by the “MRT” authorities and they had to move to new premises which were less well equipped and less conveniently situated. The applicants contend that they were subjected to a systematic campaign of harassment and intimidation by representatives of the “MRT” regime and private individuals. The children were verbally abused on their way to school and stopped and searched by the “MRT” police and border guards, who confiscated Latin script books when they found them. In addition, the two schools located in “MRT”-controlled territory were the target of repeated acts of vandalism. The applicants submitted that the alternative, for parents and children from the Moldovan community, was either to suffer this harassment or change to a school where teaching was carried out in Russian, Ukrainian or “Moldavian”, that is, Moldovan/Romanian written in the Cyrillic script. “Moldavian” was not a language used or recognised anywhere else in the world, although it had been one of the official languages in Moldova in Soviet times. This meant that the only teaching