96
"RELATING TO CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE LAWS ON THE USE OF LANGUAGES
IN EDUCATION IN BELGIUM" v. BELGIUM (MERITS) JUDGMENT
INDIVIDUAL OPINION, PARTLY DISSENTING (POINT I OF THE OPERATIVE PROVISIONS
OF THE JUDGMENT), OF JUDGE G. MARIDAKIS
Discrimination (distinction in the French text) contrary to Article 14 (art.
14) must be understood to mean any open or disguised discrimination
introduced with the manifest intention and sole aim of escaping the State’s
obligations under the Convention.
In the present case the restrictions mentioned under paragraph 3 above
apply in both the Flemish-speaking and the French-speaking regions. Their
justification is their specific object, that of giving effect to, instead of
leaving as mere words, territorial unilingualism and the immutability of the
language frontier, in order to put an end to the violent dispute between
Walloons and Flemings and to restore normal and calm living conditions for
the entire Belgian nation.
These restrictions, especially the denial of homologation and grants, are
similar in nature to the "sanctions" listed in Chapter VII, Section 50, of the
(parallel) Act of 2nd August 1963 "on the use of languages in
administration".
These restrictions ("sanctions"), taken collectively and individually, have
the same object, which is not to leave in the air but to give reality and effect
to the regional immutability and territorial unilingualism on which
Belgium’s linguistic policy in administration and education is based.
But if all these restrictions are of the same kind and all have the same
object, i.e. the interest of the Belgian nation as a whole, and the same value,
it follows that it is inconsistent to describe some as "favours" and others as
"hardships" towards Walloons or Flemings. They are rather a way of
adapting the law to a pre-existing de facto difference resulting from deeply
rooted historical realities.
The restrictions might be described, by analogy with the provisions of
Articles 8, 9, 10, 11 and 18 (art. 8, art. 9, art. 10, art. 11, art. 18) of the
Convention, as "necessary measures" to ensure a normal and prosperous life
in the Belgian State for the benefit of the entire Belgian nation.
Moreover, according to the general principles of interpretative technique,
the various provisions of an Act form a whole. Their unity derives from the
fact that they all express a single intention. Thus a single provision must
not be interpreted in a way that is not in accordance with the intention
behind the whole text. This is expressed in the celebrated Roman adage:
"Incivile est nisi tota lege perspecta una aliqua particula ejus judicare vel
respondere".
Thus any specific provision of the Belgian legislation in question
conflicts with the Convention only if, following interpretation in the light of
the intention behind that legislation as a whole, it conflicts with a specific
provision of the Convention interpreted according to the intention behind
the Convention as a whole.
According to the intention behind the Convention, in particular as
manifested in Articles 8, 9, 10, 11 and 18 (art. 8, art. 9, art. 10, art. 11, art.