[53] In common with the other treaties for the protection of minorities, and in particular with the Polish Treaty of June 28th, 1919, the text of which it follows, so far as concerns the question before the Court, very closely and almost literally, the Declaration of October 2nd, 1921, begins by laying down that no person shall be placed, in his relations with the Albanian authorities, in a position of inferiority by reason of his language, race or religion. Thus, Article 2 stipulates for all inhabitants of Albania a certain minimum of rights, which are to be granted to them “without distinction of birth, nationality, language, race or religion”; and Article 3 guarantees that Albanian nationality will not be refused to any person fulfilling the conditions mentioned in that Article. [54] Article 4 only relates to Albanian nationals and stipulates on their behalf equality before the law and the enjoyment of [p18] the same civil and political rights, without distinction as to race, language or religion. It also defines certain of these rights, with the same object of preventing differences of race, language or religion from becoming a ground of inferiority in law or an obstacle in fact to the exercise of the rights in question. [55] In all these cases, the Declaration provides for a régime of legal equality for all persons mentioned in the clause; in fact no standard of comparison was indicated, and none was necessary, for at the same time that it provides for equality of treatment the Declaration specifies the rights which are to be enjoyed equally by all. [56] After having regulated, as indicated above, the legal position of certain persons who, whether or not possessing Albanian nationality, come under Albanian sovereignty, and the legal position of Albanian nationals in general, the Declaration goes on to make special provision for Albanian nationals belonging to minorities of race, language or religion. That is the subject dealt with in paragraph 1 of Article 5, the provision which is expressly referred to in the first question put to the Court, and with which the Court must now occupy itself more particularly. * [57] It has already been remarked that paragraph 1 of Article 5 consists of two sentences, the second of which is linked to the first by the words in particular: for a right apprehension of the second part, it is therefore first necessary to determine the meaning and the scope of the first sentence. [58] This sentence is worded as follows: “Albanian nationals who belong to racial, linguistic or religious minorities, will enjoy the same treatment and security in law and in fact as other Albanian nationals.” [59] The question that arises is what is meant by the same treatment and security in law and in fact. [60] It must be noted to begin with that the equality of all Albanian nationals before the law has already been stipulated in the widest terms in Article 4. As it is difficult to admit that Article 5 set out to repeat in different words what had already been said in Article 4, one is led to the conclusion that “the same treatment and security in law and in fact” which is provided for in Article 5 is not the same notion as the equality before the law which is provided for in Article 4. [61] Moreover, as Article 4 stipulates equality before the law for all Albanian nationals, while Article 5 stipulates the “same treatment and security in law and in fact” for Albanian nationals