"RELATING TO CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE LAWS ON THE USE OF LANGUAGES IN EDUCATION IN BELGIUM" v. BELGIUM (MERITS) JUDGMENT 21 "the personal, absolute and inalienable right that his children should resemble him intellectually and culturally". As for the child, Article 8 (art. 8) confers on him the right to an education which "will best ensure the fullest development of his personality" by means of conditions in conformity with his "abilities" and his "emotions". According to the Belgian Government, the obligation resulting from Article 8 (art. 8) possesses a "strictly negative" character: it is purely an obligation of "abstinence from action". The State is not therefore bound to organise its public educational or other services in such a way that all its citizens can enjoy them everywhere with a minimum of inconvenience and discomfort in their private and family life. Besides, the rights of parents in the sphere of education and teaching are defined exclusively by Article 2 of the Protocol (P1-2). Article 8 (art. 8) consequently in no way enshrines rights such as that of the head of the family to "choose freely in what language his children shall be taught". Therefore, legislation concerning schooling cannot violate Article 8 (art. 8): the Belgian Government, modifying slightly its earlier reasoning, "absolutely disputes" before the Court the possibility of any "link" whatsoever "between Article 8 (art. 8) of the Convention and the first sentence of Article 2 of the Protocol (P1-2)". In the view of the Commission, which confirmed before the Court the unanimous opinion expressed on this point in its Report, Articles 8 and 12 (art. 8, art. 12) of the Convention and Article 2 of the Protocol (P1-2) each govern "a clearly defined sector of private and family life". The Commission deduces from this that "even if it is accepted" that those three provisions might, "in certain circumstances", "be applied jointly or in conjunction", one must beware of interpreting any one of them in a way which would involve an extension of the "rights recognised by the other two". In particular, "it is not conceivable that Article 8 (art. 8) should encroach on the sphere of Article 2 of the Protocol (P1-2) or even less that it should add something to that Article". Any such result would, moreover, "be contrary to the intention of the Contracting Parties as is clearly revealed" by the "preparatory work". The object then of Article 8 (art. 8) "is not to guarantee the right to education, considered as a corollary of the freedom of private life, or the rights of parents with regard to their children’s education, considered as a consequence of the right to respect for private and family life". It is not, however, "impossible for educational measures" to infringe Article 8 (art. 8). Thus, "any school system which, without disregarding parents’ rights to educate and bring up their children in accordance with their religious and philosophical convictions", sought "to separate parents and children might violate Article 8 (art. 8)". "Similarly, provisions relating to the language of instruction may", "under certain conditions", be considered "incompatible with Article 8 (art. 8)" if they "entail grave disturbances in private or family life", this incompatibility not being due "to the State’s failure to respect parents’ wishes with regard to the