Legal terms that travel (original) (raw)

2023, Handbook of terminology

Part I -The principle of multilingualism: rationale, legal basis, exceptions and limitations 1 Introduction: the rationale for multilingualism 2 Legal basis for multilingualism and recent case-law on its interpretation 2.1 The legal basis for multilingualism 2.2 The legal status of Council Regulation No 1/58 as a source of limitations to the principles of language equality and diversity 2.3 Conditions under which a Community Institution, agency or body could legitimately adopt a restrictive language regime 3 Exceptions and limitations to the application of the principle of multilingualism 3.1 Member States with more than one official language 3.2 Regional languages 4 Institutional limitations to the principle of multilingualism: outline of the current language regime of the Community Institutions 4.1 Language regime of the European Parliament 4.2 Language regime of the Council of the European Union 4.3 Language regime of the European Commission 4.4 Language regime of the European Court of Justice 4.5 Language regime of the Court of Auditors 4.6 Language regime of the Community agencies and bodies 4.7 Language regime of the ECB 4 ECB Legal Working Paper Series No. 2 February 2006 Part I -The principle of multilingualism: rationale, legal basis, exceptions and limitations One of the characteristics of the EU is that it is multilingual, albeit in a fundamentally different sense, both quantitatively and qualitatively, compared to any other major international or supranational organisation such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe or NATO 1 . The connotation attaching, within the context of an ever expanding EU, to "multilingualism" clearly transcends that of the plain dictionary definition of the word: the concept of multilingualism stands out as one of the most prominent symbols of European historical, political and cultural diversity and has gradually assumed, in addition to its inherently symbolic dimension, the mandatory nature of a legal imperative and the significance of a political necessity 2 . It was not until the Treaties establishing the European Community and the European Atomic Energy Community were drawn up that the Community concept of multilingualism attained the status of the firmly entrenched Community policy that it nowadays commands 3 . Unlike the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community 4 , both Treaties expressly provided that they were drawn up in a single original in the Dutch, French, German and Italian languages and that each of the four texts was equally authentic 5 . The Accession Treaties have consistently affirmed the resulting principle of the legal equality between the official languages of the Member States, demonstrating that the legal and political considerations of the late 1950s remain relevant to this day 6 . In the wake of the most recent enlargement, the largest since 1957, The UN uses six official languages for its intergovernmental meetings and documents while the Council of Europe, with a current membership of 45, and NATO, with a membership of 26, only use English and French as their official languages. Cf. Wagner, Emma, Bech, Svend and Martínez M. Jesús, 2002, Translating for the European Union Institutions, St. Jerome Publishing, pp .1 to 7. A recent indication of the importance of multilingualism for the EU is the European Commission Communication on Multilingualism of 22 November 2005, the first ever Commission Communication on this issue, entitled 'A New Framework Strategy for Multilingualism' (COM(2005)596, available at ). The document reaffirms the Commission's commitment to multilingualism, explores the various facets of its policies in this field and sets out a new framework strategy for multilingualism with proposals for specific actions. The ECSC Treaty, establishing the first of the three 'European Communities', was drawn up in a single original, in the French language. The wording of Article 100 ECSC suggests that only the French text is authentic. Article 314 TEC and Article 225 Euratom. The value attaching to the protection of linguistic diversity as a cornerstone of the EU is also apparent in Article 22 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union according to which: 'The Union shall respect cultural, religious and linguistic diversity'. Article I-3 of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe is similarly worded, providing that: '[The Union] shall respect its rich cultural and linguistic diversity, and shall ensure that Europe's cultural heritage is safeguarded and enhanced'.