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READY FOR RATIFICATION Vol. 1 Early compliance of non-States Parties with the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages A Handbook with twenty proposed instruments of ratification Volume 1: Regional or Minority Languages in non-States Parties Compliance of National Legislation with the ECRML Ewa Chylinski Mahulena Hofmannová (eds.) Proposals for Instruments of Ratification READY FOR RATIFICATION Vol. 1 Imprint Preface Publisher: European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) For a number of years, the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) and the Council of Europe co-operated on the © ECMI 2011 publication of a handbook series on various minority issues. The topical areas were legal provisions for the protection and promotion of minority rights under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM), Editors: Ewa Chylinski/Mahulena Hofmannová power sharing arrangements and examples of good practice in minority governance. The present Handbook concerns the other Council of Europe convention dealing with minorities: the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML). The ECRML represents the European legal frame of reference for the The opinions expressed in this work are the responsibility protection and promotion of languages used by persons belonging to traditional minorities. of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the ECMI. Regrettably, the importance of the ECRML is not reflected by the number of ratifications. While the FCNM has 39 States Parties, the ECRML has so far been ratified by 25 member States of the Council of Europe and signed by Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation a further eight member States. As the Secretary General of the Council of Europe stated in his Biennial report to to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution the Parliamentary Assembly on the Application of the ECRML in 2010, “it remains disappointing that a considerable and civil claims to damages. number of member states of the Council of Europe have not yet become parties to the Charter. This regret has been expressed in all previous Biennial Reports.” The ECRML lays down more detailed and technical obligations than the FCNM and employs a “menu” approach. ISBN: 978-3-940532-35-0 It appears, however, that this strength – tailored action for each regional or minority language used in the country, according to different sociolinguistic situation of each language – contributes to the slow pace of ratification as the national authorities need to prepare specific ratification instruments. At the same time, many non-States Parties to the ECRML have already a long tradition in protecting and promoting their regional or minority languages on the basis of national legislation and the FCNM, and therefore may be ready for ratification of the ECRML. During the past few years, the ECMI has been developing capacity to address issues related to the ECRML. Through its programme on “Language and Cultural Diversity” and recently through the research cluster “Culture & Diversity”, the ECMI is now in a position to present a handbook on the ECRML which it has drafted in co-operation with independent experts from different parts of Europe. This publication takes the legal and linguistic situation in non-States Parties into account, draws on the synergies between the ECRML and the FCNM, and responds to specific concerns that exist in some countries. As a final result, it demonstrates how a ratification instrument for some non-States Parties could look like, what in turn may assist national authorities in the future. We hope that the handbook will be received as a useful tool and help adding new momentum to the ECRML ratification process. Maud de Boer-Buquicchio Dr Tove H. Malloy Member of ECMI Executive Board ECMI Director Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) Schiffbrücke 12 (Kompagnietor-Building) D-24939 Flensburg Telefon: 0461 - 1 41 49-0 Fax: 0461 - 1 41 49-19 e-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.ecmi.de ECMI Ready for ratification 2 ECMI Ready for ratification 3 READY FOR RATIFICATION Vol. 1 Acknowledgments The editors would like to thank the many people who participated in the preparation and production of this book. The idea for the book was conceived while, on many different occasions, discussing multilingualism issues in Europe. One of the key aspects of this is the protection and promotion of cultural and linguistic diversity, especially in countries which have not yet ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. However, in many of those countries there is a lot of practice Ready for Ratification. which, in many cases, fulfils the provisions of the Charter. The findings presented in the context of the special conference series International Conference on Minority Languages (ICML), established in 1980 and convened at bi-annual intervals, were, to a great extent, also an inspiration. The many papers and exchanges with researchers, practitioners and minority-language bearers during the Early compliance of non-States Parties with the last ICML XIII in the German-Danish border region demonstrated the wide variety of on-going developments. We would like to thank them all. European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages We would also like to thank the minority organisations who have shared their opinions and needs A Handbook with twenty proposed instruments of ratification in relation to their languages. These organisations could easily play a part in the process of enabling their respective States to adopt the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages as a living document for future progress on these issues. Above all, we would like to thank our contributors for their co-operation and efficiency in producing the volumes and for meeting often tight deadlines. The Editors Flensburg/Luxemburg, Autumn 2011 Volume 1: Regional or Minority Languages in non-States Parties Compliance of National Legislation with the ECRML Proposals for Instruments of Ratification ECMI Ready for ratification 4 ECMI Ready for ratification 5 READY FOR RATIFICATION Vol. 1 Contributors: Ewa Chylinski, Deputy Director of the European Centre for Minority Issues, Flensburg, Head of the Research Cluster “Culture & Diversity” Dieter W. Halwachs, Head of the Research Unit for Plurilingualism, University of Graz; Member of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages Mahulena Hofmannová, University of Luxemburg/Charles University of Prague; Member of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages Karl Kössler, Senior Researcher, Institute for Studies on Federalism and Regionalism, European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano (EURAC) Igor Krugovykh, Associate Professor of the Chair for National and Federative Relations of the Russian Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation; Member of Presidium of the Assembly of Peoples of Russia Francesco Palermo, Professor of Comparative Constitutional Law, University of Verona, and Director, Institute for Studies on Federalism and Regionalism, European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano (EURAC); Additional Member of the Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities Federica Prina, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London George Tarkhan-Mouravi, Co-Director of the Institute for Policy Studies, Tbilisi, Georgia Tom Trier, Regional Director, European Centre for Minority Issues South Caucasus Jean-Marie Woehrling, Former President of the Administrative Court of Strasbourg, President of the “Institut du Droit Local Alsacien-Mosellan”; Member of the Working Group in charge of the first Draft of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ECMI Ready for ratification 6 ECMI Ready for ratification 7 READY FOR RATIFICATION Vol. 1 Contents Volume 1 page 11. Italy 64 11.1 Presentation of the regional or minority language situation 64 Volume 1 page 11.2 Compliance of legislation with the ECRML 65 11.3 Proposal for an instrument of ratification 67 Preface 3 12. Latvia 76 12.1 Presentation of the regional or minority language situation 76 12.2 Compliance of legislation with the ECRML 77 10 Introduction 12.3 Proposal for an instrument of ratification 79 The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages Methodology of this Handbook 13. Lithuania 85 13.1 Presentation of the regional or minority language situation 85 I. States Ready to Ratify 15 13.2 Compliance of legislation with the ECRML 86 13.3 Proposal for an instrument of ratification 87 1. Albania 15 1.1 Presentation of the regional or minority language situation 15 14. Malta 93 1.2 Compliance of legislation with the ECRML 16 1.3 Proposal for an instrument of ratification 17 15. Moldova 94 15.1 Presentation of the regional or minority language situation 94 2. Andorra 22 15.2 Compliance of legislation with the ECRML 95 15.3 Proposal for an instrument of ratification 99 3. Azerbaijan 23 3.1 Presentation of the regional or minority language situation 23 16. Monaco 106 3.2 Compliance of legislation with the ECRML 25 16.1 Presentation of the regional or minority language situation 106 3.3 Proposal for an instrument of ratification 27 16.2 Compliance of legislation with the ECRML 106 16.3 Proposal for an instrument of ratification 106 4. Belgium 30 4.1 Presentation of the regional or minority language situation 30 17. Portugal 108 4.2 Compliance of legislation with the ECRML 31 17.1 Presentation of the regional or minority language situation 108 4.3 Proposal for an instrument of ratification 33 17.2 Compliance of legislation with the ECRML 108 17.3 Proposal for an instrument of ratification 110 5. Bulgaria 37 5.1 Presentation of the regional or minority language situation 37 18. Russian Federation 112 5.2 Compliance of legislation with the ECRML 37 18.1 Presentation of the regional or minority language situation 112 5.3 Proposal for an instrument of ratification 38 18.2 Compliance of legislation with the ECRML 117 18.3 Proposal for an instrument of ratification 123 6.