Partial transition to education in Latvian in 2018 is not discriminating - ECHR

RIGA - Latvia's transition to education in the state language in preschool education institutions does not violate the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and does not discriminate against Russians, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has concluded in the case Djeri and Others v. Latvia.

The claim to the court was lodged by several individuals, including Inna Djeri, a member of the Riga City Council (Latvia's Union of Russians), who asked the ECHR to assess Latvia's reform in 2018 to Latvian-language-only education in preschool institutions and declare it discriminatory and incompatible with the Convention.

In their complaints to the court, the applicants claimed that the 2018 education reform, which provided for an increase in the proportion of Latvian as the language of instruction in preschool education, affected their right to education in the minority language as families belonging to national minorities. The applicants alleged that the 2018 reform restricted the applicants' children's right to access to education and discriminated against them on the basis of language.

As in other similar cases, the applicants did not put forward any specific arguments on the negative consequences for their ability to receive an education, the ECHR noted in its judgment.

The Court found in particular that the measures taken by the Latvian government to increase the use of the national language in pre-schools had been proportionate and necessary to prepare pupils for primary education, to ensure unity in the education system and to ensure a sufficient level of Latvian for residents to participate effectively in public life.

The Court considered that strengthening Latvian after decades of Soviet domination, and unity in and facilitation of equal access to the education

system, were legitimate aims. In addition, in this case, there was a further aim of preparing preschool children for primary education.

In 2018 Saeima adopted amendments to the Education Law and General Education Law, providing that the proportion of the Latvian language in schools should be increased.

In October 2022, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Law on Education and the Law on General Education, which stipulate that in Latvia, also in pre-school and primary education, the transition to teaching only in the official language will take place gradually over a period of three years. Before that the transition had taken place only in secondary schools.

The transition to Latvian-language-only instruction in Latvian minority schools' primary education programs began with the first classes, grades 1, 4 and 7. From September 1, 2024, the transition to Latvian only will also be implemented in grades 2, 5 and 8, and from September 1, 2025, in grades 3, 6 and 9.