A case has been initiated on provisions that exclude the possibility to acquire general education in national minority education programmes
On 19 May 2023 the 2nd Panel of the Constitutional Court initiated a case “On Compliance of Sections 1, 5, 6 and 12 of the Law of 29 September 2022 “Amendments to the Law on Education”, insofar as Paragraph 102 is supplemented with the transitional provisions of the Law, and compliance of Section 4(1) and Section 6 of the Law of 29 September 2022 “Amendments to the Law on General Education” with Article 1 and Article 114 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia”.
The Contested Provisions
The aforementioned provisions of the Laws “Amendments to the Law on Education” and “Amendments to the Law on General Education” (hereinafter referred to as the contested provisions) excluded those provisions of the Law on Education and the Law on General Education which provided for the acquisition of pre-school and general primary education in minority education programmes. These amendments shall enter into force on 1 September 2023, 1 September 2024, and 1 September 2025 respectively, depending on the educational programme and the academic year in which the studies are to start or continue.
Provision with a Higher Legal Force
Article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia (hereinafter referred to as — the Constitution): “Latvia is an independent democratic republic.”
Article 114 of the Constitution: “Persons belonging to ethnic minorities have the right to preserve and develop their language, their ethnic and cultural identity.”
Facts of the Case
The case was initiated based on the application submitted by Matvejs Jeremuts (hereinafter referred to as the Applicant).
The Applicant is a pupil, he identifies himself with the national minorities living in Latvia, his mother tongue is not the Latvian state language but a minority language, and he is receiving primary education in a minority education programme.
As a result of the contested provisions, the Applicant will no longer be able to obtain primary education in his mother tongue of national minorities. The previous education reform, which provided for the proportion of Latvian and minority languages in the education process, entered into force on 1 September 2019. The Applicant had hoped that the reform would be the last reform of the use of the state language in national minority schools.
According to the Applicant, the contested provisions are incompatible with the principle of legitimate expectations enshrined in Article 1 of the Constitution, as well as Article 114 of the Constitution, and Article 14 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, because they deny him the right to preserve and develop his language.
Judicial Procedure
- The deadline for preparing the case is 19 October 2023.
The Court shall decide on the procedure and date for hearing the case after the case is prepared.
The decision on initiation of the case is available here.
Linked case: 2023-15-01