THE USE OF REGIONAL AND MINORITY LANGUAGES IN THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND THE UNDERTAKINGS OF ARTICLE 10 OF THE EUROPEAN CHARTER FOR REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES

The use of a regional or minority language in dealings with the administrative authorities is the clearest demonstration of the legal status of such a language, and it clearly involves the sphere of fundamental rights. This happens mostly when the majority language is not known by the minority language speaker, but it also occurs when the same speaker has a mastery of the majority language. Article 10 of the ECRLM covers both of these possibilities, and lists a number of situations where the use of regional and minority languages is, << as far as this is reasonably possible >>, ensured. The doctrine established by the Committee of Experts of the ECRLM takes into consideration the varying degrees of intensity specified by the States for language regulation, e. g., the variations from the state level to the regional and local levels, and provides some clear parameters to be followed. Both the state reports and the Committee of Experts evaluation reports help create a meaningful body of doctrine on language rights that can be useful for States that are not parties to the ECRLM.