Les « droits fondamentaux linguistiques » existent-ils ?

What is it about?

Beyond law, the register of fundamental linguistic rights straddles many disciplines. Legally speaking, fundamental linguistic rights exist insofar as they are jurisdictionally guaranteed and effective. The case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) shows that this is sometimes the case, testifying to its creative role in this area. This introduction highlights the limitations of the Linguistic Human Rights (LHR) movement, as well as those of the register of fundamental rights with a linguistic dimension mobilized in law. For example, invoking this dimension does not solve the problem of the political trade-offs that a community faces, which harks back to the question of the costs and benefits of language policies. We show that the logic of fundamental linguistic rights is based, more or less explicitly, on moral considerations and field realities. As a result, the definition of these rights varies according to the interpretation of the judges, in particular the ECtHR.

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