Monitoring the application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

Introduction

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages provides for a monitoring mechanism to evaluate how the Charter is applied in a State Party with a view to, where necessary, making recommendations for improvements in its legislation, policy and practice. The central element of the monitoring mechanism is a Committee of independent experts, established in accordance with Article 17 of the Charter. The various stages of the monitoring mechanism are described below.

Access to the documents relating to the monitoring mechanism

The Secretary General's biennial report to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Once every two years, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe presents to the Parliamentary Assembly a detailed report on the application of the Charter. This ensures that the members of Europe’s parliaments are kept informed about the application of the Charter, enabling them to bring political pressure to bear if necessary to encourage national governments to take appropriate measures. 

Access to the reports 

Monitoring takes place in 3-yearly cycles, in the following stages:

1) Submission of a periodical report by the State Party

Each State Party must submit a periodical report to the Secretary General every three years, explaining their policies and the action they have taken to fulfil the commitments they have undertaken. The reports must be drafted according to the outlines adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which set out the structure of the state reports. These reports are published and may be obtained from the states concerned and from the Council of Europe.

2) Monitoring exercise carried out by the Committee of Experts

During each monitoring cycle, the Committee:

• examines the state's periodical report;
• where necessary, addresses a number of questions to the Party on any unclear areas of the report;
• organises an "on-the-spot" visit to the state, to meet authorities, non-governmental organisations or any other competent body in order to evaluate the application of the Charter;
• examines any further information submitted by associations and other bodies legally established in the state concerned and with an interest in the field of languages (click here for further information on the role of NGOs in the Charter's monitoring mechanism);
• prepares its own evaluation report on the basis of the information obtained, and addresses it to the Committee of Ministers, including proposals for recommendations to be made to states.

3) Committee of Ministers' recommendations to the States Parties

Once it has considered the Committee of Experts’ report, the Committee of Ministers may decide to make it public. It may also decide to make recommendations to states with a view to their taking the necessary action to bring their policies, legislation and practice into line with their obligations under the Charter.