[22] The Court would emphasize that it only quotes the Agreements of Corfu and Kapishtica in
so far as they may serve to throw light upon the educational situation existing at the period of
their conclusion and that it expresses no opinion as to the validity of these arrangements as
international agreements imposing obligations on Albania.
[23] Under Article 5, paragraph 2, of the Declaration of October. 2nd, 1921, the Albanian
Government had, within six months, to present to the Council “detailed information .... with
regard to the legal status of the religious communities, churches, convents, schools, voluntary
establishments and associations of [p11] racial, religious and linguistic minorities”. In this
connection, the Court would recall that in its Advisory Opinion of July 31st, 1930, concerning
the Greco-Bulgarian Communities (Opinion No. 17), it had occasion to state that a community
is
“.... a group of persons living in a given country or locality, having a race, religion, language
and traditions of their own and united by this identity of race, religion, language and traditions
in a sentiment of solidarity, with a view to preserving their traditions, maintaining their form of
worship, ensuring the instruction and upbringing of their children in accordance with the spirit
and traditions of their race and rendering mutual assistance to each other.”
[24] By a telegram dated April 2nd, 1922, the Albanian Government, however, announced that
it was materially impossible for it to present its report within the time fixed, and that it would
do so as soon as possible. In accordance with this promise, the Albanian Minister for Foreign
Affairs sent certain information to the Secretary-General on this subject in a letter dated July
7th, 1922. This letter stated that there were in southern Albania a number of Greek minority
schools, all maintained solely by the State out of the funds of the Ministry of Education;
further, according to the same letter, Albanian communities, including the Orthodox
community, had “full rights of establishing schools of various grades teaching in the language
of the people over whom their religious heads have rights of jurisdiction”.
[25] Meantime, at a meeting of the Council on May 12th, 1922, the Albanian representative
had announced that two classes of laws would be passed to deal with the question of minorities
in Albania : the general principles would form an integral part of the constitutional law which
was in process of preparation, and the development of these principles and the provisions
regarding religious communities would be embodied in another law, which was also in course
of preparation.
[26] On September 1st, 1922, the Council noted the information furnished by the Albanian
Government in its letter of July 7th regarding the situation of minorities in Albania; at the
same time, it instructed the Secretary-General to collect and submit to the Council in due
course further information concerning the legislative measures which, according to the
statement made by the Albanian representative on May 12th, 1922, were to be taken,
particularly with regard to the legal status of minority schools.
[27] The first Albanian Constitution - apart from the organic Statute of August 10th, 1914, and
a “Provisional Constitution” which would seem to have been in force in 1923, but the terms
[p12] of which have not been produced to the Court - was only adopted on March 7th, 1925.
[28] On June 5th, 1923, however, a law was promulgated “concerning the legal status of
religious communities”, the text of which was communicated to the Council on August 15th of
the same year. This law does not deal with educational questions; its bearing upon the
organization of education in Albania appears indirectly from the letter of the Albanian Minister
for Foreign Affairs of July 7th, 1922, to which reference has been made above. On September
17th, 1923, the Council decided to note “the information furnished to date by the Albanian