1. Canada and International Treaties

In Canada, Canadian laws take precedence over any treaties signed by the federal government. When a law and a treaty are at odds, either the legislation has to be changed or the treaty has to be abandoned. What's more, treaties are not self-executing in Canada, meaning that treaties or conventions issued by international organizations have no legal standing in the country, though some may actually reflect a law in effect here already.

Also, because of Canada's status as a federation, certain treaties can involve the provinces. If the country has to change a statute or piece of legislation to meet international commitments, the provinces are asked to cooperate voluntarily. That's because provincial laws don't change automatically-the federal government not having the authority to legislate on behalf of the provinces in their areas of jurisdiction. Indeed, courts refer to provincial laws in their efforts to comply as much as possible with Canada's international commitments when treaties or agreements don't patently contradict Canadian legislation.

For a number of years now, the federal government has most commonly avoided signing treaties or agreements if it hasn't first obtained the consent of the province concerned, or of all the provinces if need be. Some treaties or agreements cross into exclusive or partial provincial jurisdictions. In addition, before signing any treaty or agreement, the federal government generally waits for a province, or for the provinces, to change its or their legislation accordingly; and when federal representatives happen to sign a treaty that contravenes a provincial law, the treaty does not apply if the province in question doesn't amend its law.

Roughly the same thing happens in Germany: the country's Länder (the equivalent of Canada's provinces) wield considerable power within the German federation, because the Bundesrat (or Upper House: Canada's Senate) is composed of representatives from the 16 federated states (at least three each). And when a federal law affects "the interests of the Länder" (taxation, regional administration, fiscal matters, etc.), or when it can alter the constitution, the consent of the Bundesrat is required. International treaties, even if they do not affect the interests of the Länder, must pass by both the Bundestag (or lower house: Canada's House of Commons) and the Bundesrat. So, under this arrangement, it's easy to understand, for example, that Germany's adoption of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and of the General Agreement on the Protection of Minority Languages required the consent of the Bundesrat, and of each of the Länder concerned.

2. The International Protection of Language Rights

3. The Rights of Indigenous Peoples Around the World

OrganizationTitleYearRemarksLanguage ProvisionsText
International Labour OrganizationIndigenous and Tribal Populations Convention (No. 107)1957ExplanationRead art. 23 and 26Full Text
International Labour OrganizationConvention Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (No. 169)1989ExplanationRead art. 28 and 30Full Text
United Nations OrganizationUniversal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples1993ExplanationRead art. 14, 15 and 17Full Text
Organization of American StatesDraft of the Inter-American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples1994ExplanationRead art. 2, 7, 8 and 16Full Text

4. The International Organization of the Council of Europe

The International Organization of the Council of Europe (IOCE)

The Council of Europe is an international body based in Strasbourg (France). Its primary mission is to uphold and strengthen democracy, human rights and the rule of law throughout the territories covered by its member states. Given that efforts to defend and advance these fundamental political values now fall outside the realm of domestic affairs, IOCE members are united by that cause.

Canada was granted observer status on April 3, 1996. In that capacity, the country is party to the following interim conventions: Interim Agreement on Social Policy and Public HealthConvention on the Elaboration of a European Pharmacopoeia and the Agreement on European Commission for Democracy through Law. Canada has also ratified two Council of Europe treaties: Convention on Transfer of Sentenced Persons and the European Anti-doping Convention. In addition, Canada has signed, but not yet ratified, four other Council of Europe treaties; that leaves 11 more such treaties for Canada to sign, as proposed by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers. None of the treaties in question revolves around language issues.

Article 3 of the Statute of the Council of Europe sets out members' responsibilities and obligations in the area of human rights and fundamental liberties:

Every member of the Council of Europe must accept the principles of the rule of law and of the enjoyment by all persons within its jurisdiction of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and collaborate sincerely and effectively in the realisation of the aim of the Council as specified in Chapter I.

Finally, article 12 governs the use of official languages in Council of Europe agencies:

The official languages of the Council of Europe are English and French. The rules of procedure of the Committee of Ministers and of the Consultative Assembly shall determine in what circumstances and under what conditions other languages may be used.

Supra-National Language Legislation

On the language front, the Council of Europe is responsible for designing and implementing a few international treaties, including the 1992 European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the 1994 Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. These two treaties serve as language laws that apply virtually in full to a series of countries, which in turn have to abide by a minimum number of selected components in the documents. With regard to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, only those states having ratified the document are required to fully apply all of the provisions it contained at the original signing. However, when it comes to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, each country can build its own "à la carte" charter, provided it contain at least 35 articles from the proposed provisions. Canada, for instance, could have a similar supra-provincial mechanism governing all of its provinces.

The National Minorities

Under the European Charter, the concept of regional or minority languages refers to those spoken traditionally on a state territory by nationals who comprise numerically smaller group than the rest of the state's population. Minority languages differ from a state's "official" language or languages, which don't encompass dialects or languages spoken by immigrants. In Canada, the expression national minority doesn't exist, because Canadian legislation does not recognize Canadian linguistic minorities, but rather provincial linguistic minorities. Remember: Canada is a federation, and its provinces retain full authority in the area of language rights.

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities contain stringent obligations for member states that have signed and ratified the two treaties, not the least of which is the commitment to respect and recognize their national minorities. In some cases, the agreements can serve as actual language policies for member states.

Au choix:

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

The following states have ratified the Charter:

Germany, Armenia, Austria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Norway, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland.

Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities

The following states have ratified the Convention:

Albania, Germany, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina , Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine.