The ban on the Russian language in arbitrary universities limits their freedom, the EU Court ruled
CONTEXT
In 2019, the Saeima was full, and the president proclaimed language amendments to education laws that sharply reduced the use of the Russian language in schools and prohibited teaching in it at universities – even customizable ones. Then, in the summer of 2020, the Satversme Court partially satisfied the issue of non-compliance of language norms with laws on higher education under the country’s fundamental law. The requirement for specific universities to implement training programs only in the state language was recognized as unconstitutional, since it limits the right of every person to education, academic freedom and scientific thought. Then the Seimas again made a decision, relying on the verdict of the Constitutional Court, approving in the final reading that education in higher schools and colleges is conducted in the state language, but universities that meet the requirements for quality requirements have the right to implement training programs for foreign diplomas – those that happen in the EU countries (Russian is not among them). This regulation was challenged in the Supreme Court.
The lawsuit in the Satversme Court was filed by Seimas deputy Boris Tsilevich and Jurmala City Council deputy Elizaveta Krivtsova (both from the Harmony party). The Court of Justice is processed for assistance in the Court of Justice of the EU. The verdict of the EU Court of Justice came this week, and it proved that indeed language restrictions in higher education are restrictions on the freedom of institutions. The court acknowledged that some priorities can be identified for the protection of the state language. repositories of proportionalitythat is, there must be exceptions for teaching at another level.
Does this mean for Latvia that higher education in Russian can return? No, not everything is so simple, says Dimitrov:
“The decision of the EU Court is, in fact, an explanation to the Latvian Constitutional Court, how to participate in European law in this situation. The Constitutional Court will have to be guided by this when questions about language regulation in universities are set up, ”said the specialist.
There are four main points in the decision of the EU Court of Justice. The first one is the answer to the question that can be considered valid in the Republic of Latvia on registration of restrictions on the freedom of entrepreneurial activity.
“Here, the position of restrictions was that it was not signed that citizens of other EU countries are starting universities in Latvia, but simply with education in Latvian. But the court said that this is a discovery, that is, it is necessary to assess that such a discovery has been discovered. And in order to determine whether it is legal or not, there are three points that need to be taken into account.
The first point: the court said that the withdrawal of the freedom to conduct business in order to use the state language is, in principle, permissible. The second point: the court was asked to what extent the fact that there are two universities in Latvia with English as the language of instruction – the Riga Higher School of Law and the Riga Stockholm Higher School of Economics and Business – does not include any contradiction, explains Dimitrov.
“The court said – no: exceptions related to the emergence of university cooperation are permissible, that this is not connected with the acquisition of the goal – promoting the use of the state language.
And the last, the most important point for the Constitutional Court is the possible regulation taking into account proportionality. The Council of the EU, in fact, said that the Constitutional Court itself should accept this, because it knows the situation better – but at the same time, he noted that it would happen on occasion in order to be proportionate to us,
mastering foreign languages and mastering a foreign culture”.
At the moment, according to Dimitrov, there are such exceptions in the law on universities – but they are stipulated only for EU languages. “But the EU Court of Justice said that, in relation, this applies to any international cooperation, and not just within Europe,” he said.
The lawyer emphasized that, in the opinion of the EU Court of Justice, exceptions should apply to any international cooperation, and not just at the level of applications. Can the Constitutional Court ignore this conclusion? Dimitrov explained that usually states comply with such decisions:
“Because if that doesn’t happen, then the EC could come up with an exemption, which would break enforcement and reduce the likelihood of a situation – which could lead to monetary penalties in the near future.”
Moreover, he added: a violation in the normative acts of Latvia, if the Constitutional Court determines that it takes place, it will be necessary to limit consumption. The norms will lose their force – and universities require applying for accreditation of their scientific programs for obtaining the EU, the specialist said. According to him, it can be assembled from several months to six months.
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