Law Governing the Use of Languages in Administrative Matters
Coordinated on July 18, 1966
(Translated from French)
Belgian House of Representatives
CHAPTER I Scope of the Coordinated Laws
Section 1
1) These coordinated laws are applicable to:
1o the centralized and decentralized public departments of the State, provinces and communes, insofar as they are not governed by any other law respecting the use of languages;
2o natural or legal persons who are holders of a public utility or who are authorized to act in a capacity which extends beyond the limits of private enterprise and who have been entrusted with legal or public powers in the public interest;
3o administrative works, administrative personnel, and the organization of the departments of the Conseil d'État (state council) and the Cour des comptes (audit office);
4o the administrative acts of the judiciary and its subsidiaries, and those of the education authorities;
5o operations relating to legislative, provincial and local elections;
6o within the limits prescribed by section 52, the acts and documents issued by any private industrial, commercial or financial enterprise.
2) The various departments, having a specified territorial jurisdiction, of the administrations, public departments and establishments set out in subsection 1, as well as the natural persons set out in the same subsection, are hereinafter referred to as "Departments".
Unless they are subject to a public authority, the persons specified in paragraph (1)2 do not fall under the provisions of these coordinated laws respecting the organization of Departments, the status of personnel, and the rights acquired by them.
CHAPTER II Language Areas
Section 2
The country includes four language areas: the Dutch-language area, the French-language area, the German-language area, and Bruxelles-Capitale (the Brussels capital area).
Section 3
1) The Dutch-language area includes:
1o the provinces of Antwerp, West Flanders, East Flanders and Limbourg;
2o the arrondissement of Halle-Vilvoorde, which is mentioned in subsection 2;
3o the arrondissement of Leuven.
2) The communes, other than those listed in sections 6 and 7, are separate from the administrative arrondissement of Brussels. The King groups these communes together into one administrative arrondissement, which has Halle and Vilvoorde as its chef-lieux.
The administrative arrondissements of Bruxelles-Capitale and Halle-Vilvoorde, as well as the separate administrative arrondissement mentioned in section 7, together make up an electoral subdivision for general and provincial elections, the chef-lieu of which is Brussels.
Section 4
The French-language area includes:
1o the provinces of Hainaut, Luxembourg and Namur;
2o the province of Liège, with the exception of the communes listed in section 5;
3o the arrondissement of Nivelles.
Section 5
The German-language area includes the communes of: Eupen, Eynatten, Hauset, Hergenrath, Kettenis, La Calamine, Lontzen, Neu-Moresnet, Raeren, Walhorn, Ambleve, Bullange, Bretgenbach, Crombach, Elsenborn, Heppenbach, Lommersweiler, Hoanderfeld, Meyerode, Recht, Reuland, Rocherath, Saint-Vith, Schoanberg and Thommen.
Section 6
There shall be established an administrative arrondissement referred to as "Bruxelles-Capitale," which includes the following communes:
Anderlecht, Auderghem Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Bruxelles, Etterbeek, Evere, Forest, Ganshoren, Ixelles, Jette, Koekelberg, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Saint-Gilles, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Schaerbeek, Uccle, Watermael-Boitsfort, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre.
The chef-lieu of this administrative arrondissement is Brussels.
Section 7
The following communes shall be grouped in one separate administrative arrondissement and provided with a distinctive status: Drogenbos, Kraainem, Linkebeek, Rhode-Saint-Genese, Wemmel and Wezembeek Oppem.
For the purposes of applying the following provisions, and in particular those of Chapter IV, these communes shall be considered to have special arrangements. They shall hereinafter be referred to as "peripheral communes."
Section 8
The following shall be provided with special arrangements in order to protect their minorities:
1o in the arrondissement of Verviers, the communes in the German-language area;
2o in the arrondissement of Verviers, the communes of: Bellevaux-Ligneuville, Beverce, Faymonville, Malmedy, Robertville and Waimes. They are hereinafter referred to as the "Malmédy communes" (communes malmédiennes);
3o in the arrondissement of Ypres, the commune of Messines;
4o in the arrondissement of Courtrai, the communes of Espierres and Helchin;
5o in the arrondissement of Mouscron, the communes of Bas-Warneton, Comines, Dottignies, Herseaux, Houthem, Luigne, Mouscron, Ploegsteert and Warneton;
6o in the arrondissement of Audenarde, the commune of Relldix.
7o in the arrondissement of Ath, the commune of Flobecq;
8o in the arrondissement of Hal-Vilvorde, the commune of Bievene;
9o in the arrondissement of Soignies, the communes of Enghien, Marcq and Petit-Enghien;
10o in the arrondissement of Tongres, the communes of Fouron-the-Comte, Fouron-Saint-Martin, Fouron-Saint-Pierre, Herstappe, Mouland, Remersdaal and Teuven.
The communes set out in sub. 3 to 10 are hereinafter referred to as the "communes of the linguistic boundary."
CHAPTER III Use of Languages in Local Departments
Part I General
Section 9
For the application of these coordinated laws, local departments mean the departments defined in subsection 1(2), the activities of which do not extend beyond one commune.
Part II French-, Dutch-, and German-Language Areas
Section 10
Any local department established in a French-, Dutch- or German-language area shall exclusively use the language of the area for its domestic departments, in its relations with the departments to which it reports and with other departments in the same language area and in Bruxelles-Capitale.
However, if it deems it expedient, any local department established in a German-language area may include a translation of the documents intended for the departments to which it reports and for those in Bruxelles-Capitale.
Any local department set up in a Dutch-language area shall use Dutch in its relations with departments established in the peripheral communes.
Section 11
1) Local departments set up in a French- or Dutch-language area shall prepare notices, communications and forms intended for the public exclusively in the language of the area. However, these documents shall be drawn up in French and in German in the Malmédy communes, if the commune council so determines.
2) In the German-language communes, notices, communications and forms intended for the public shall be drawn up in German and in French.
In the communes of the linguistic boundary, they shall be drawn up in French and in Dutch.
3) The commune councils in tourist centres may decide that notices and communications intended for tourists shall be drawn up in at least three languages.
They shall communicate, within one week, the contents of their deliberations to the Commission permanente de contrôle linguistique (permanent language monitoring committee).
4) Notwithstanding the second paragraph of subsection (1) and subsection (2), any publication relating to civil status shall be exclusively in the language of the act to which it relates or, where applicable, translated into the language requested by the person in question under section 13.
Section 12
Any local department established in the French-, Dutch-, or German-language areas shall make exclusive use of the language of the area in its relations with individuals, without prejudice to the allowance made for responding to any individual residing in another language area in the language used by the interested person.
However, any department established in a Malmédy commune or a commune in the German-language area shall always respond to an individual addressing the department in French or in German, in the language used by the interested person.
In the communes of the linguistic boundary, departments shall be offered to individuals in one of the two languages-French or Dutch-used or requested by them.
Section 13
1) Any local department established in the French- or Dutch-language areas shall draw up all acts affecting individuals in the language of the area.
Any interested person who establishes a case for it may obtain a certified translation in French, Dutch or German, as applicable, free of charge. Such translation shall constitute an official or certified copy. The interested person shall make the request to the governor of his or her province of residence, or, for a translation into German, to the governor of Liège province.
Notwithstanding the previous paragraph, any interested person in the Malmédy communes or in one of the communes of the linguistic boundary may obtain from the department which drew up the act, without any additional fees or justification of the request, a certified true translation, constituting an official or certified copy:
a) in German, if the department is established in a Malmédy commune;
b) in French or in Dutch, as required, if the department is established in one of the communes of the linguistic boundary.
2) Any local department established in a German-language area shall draw up all acts affecting individuals in German.
Any interested person may obtain from the department which drew up the act, without any additional fees or justification of the request, a certified true translation into French, constituting an official or certified copy.
3) Commune administrations shall use the area language to draw up transcripts of acts of civil status. When a transcript in a language other than that of the act is required:
1o if the act originates from a commune which does not have special arrangements and which is from the French- or Dutch-language areas, the recipient administration shall request a translation from the provincial governor or from the governor of Liège province, as applicable;
2o if the act originates from a Malmédy commune, a commune of the German-language area, one of the communes of the linguistic boundary or Bruxelles-Capitale, or a peripheral commune, the originating administration shall include a translation, unless the recipient commune is legally qualified to establish the translation. However, in the case of an act from one of the communes of the linguistic boundary, one of the communes of Bruxelles-Capitale or of a peripheral commune which is to be translated into German or an act from the German-language area which is to be translated into Dutch, the recipient commune administration shall address the governor of Liège province. Communes which are not subject to special arrangements shall address any request they receive for the translation into Dutch of an act originating in a Malmédy commune to the provincial governor.
Section 14
1) Any local department based in the French- or Dutch-language areas shall draw up all certificates, declarations and authorizations delivered to individuals, in the language of the area. Any interested person who establishes a case for it may obtain a translation according to the requirements of subsection 13(1).
2) Notwithstanding subsection 1, the document shall be drawn up according to the wishes of the interested person:
a) in French or in German, when the department is established in a Malmédy commune;
b) in French or in Dutch, when the department is established in a commune of the linguistic boundary.
3) Any local department established in the German-language area shall draw up in German or in French, according to the wishes of the interested person, any certificate, declaration or authorization delivered to individuals.
Section 15
1) In all local departments established in the French-, Dutch- or German-language areas, no individual who does not know the area language may be appointed or promoted to an office or position.
Qualifying examinations and rank examinations shall take place in the same language.
A candidate shall qualify for an examination only as a result of having degrees or certificates from studies in the aforementioned language. Without such degrees or certificates, knowledge of the language shall be demonstrated in advance by means of an examination.
If an office or position is granted without a prior qualifying examination, the required language ability shall be verified by means of the evidence prescribed in the foregoing paragraph.
2) In the communes of the linguistic boundary, only candidates who have successfully completed an examination which demonstrates their adequate knowledge of the second language, either French or Dutch, as applicable, shall be eligible to hold the following offices: secrétaire communal (municipal clerk), receveur communal (municipal tax collector), police commissioner, and the secrétaire and receveur of the Commission d'assistance publique (clerk and collector for the public assistance commission).
In the administration of communes and of the public agencies which are under the direction of the communes, no individual may be employed in any position which includes contact with the public if that individual has not previously successfully completed an examination to demonstrate a basic knowledge of the second language, either French or Dutch, as applicable.
Candidates with degrees or certificates from studies in the relevant language are exempt from the language examinations set out in the two foregoing paragraphs.
The language examinations and, if necessary, the examination on the knowledge of the area language, shall take place under the supervision of the Commission permanente de contrôle linguistique.
In local departments other than those of the communes and the public agencies under the direction of the communes, no individual may be employed in any position which includes contact with the public if that individual does not have an adequate or basic knowledge of the second language, either French or Dutch, as applicable. The degree of knowledge appropriate to a given position is verified by an examination.
3) In the Malmédy communes and in the communes of the German-language area, departments shall be organized in such a way that the public may make use of French or German without any difficulty.
Section 16
In the communes of Baelen, Gemmenich, Henri-Chapelle, Hombourg, Membach, Montzen, Moresnet, Sippenaeken and Welkenraedt (Verviers arrondissement), the King may, with the consent of the commune councils and taking into consideration the language spoken by the population and administrative requirements, override sections 11 to 15.
Decrees of the King shall be confirmed by law no later than one year after they are published in the Moniteur belge.
Part III Bruxelles-Capitale
Section 17
1) In its domestic departments, in its relations with the departments to which it reports and with other departments of Bruxelles-Capitale, any local department established in Bruxelles-Capitale shall use French or Dutch, without recourse to translators, as follows:
A. If the location of the matter is or can be identified as being:
1o exclusively in a French- or Dutch-language area: the language of the area;
2o both in Bruxelles-Capitale and in a French- or Dutch-language area: the language of the area;
3o both in the French- and the Dutch-language areas: the language of the area in which the matter originates;
4o both in the French- and Dutch-language areas and in Bruxelles-Capitale, when it originates in one of the first two areas: the language of that area;
5o both in the French- and Dutch-language areas and in Bruxelles-Capitale, when it originates in the latter: the language set out in B hereinafter;
6o exclusively in Bruxelles-Capitale: the language set out in B hereinafter;
B. If the location of the matter is not and cannot be identified:
1o if it involves a department officer: the language in which the officer took his or her qualifying examination or, in the absence of such an examination, the language of the group to which, by virtue of the principal language of the interested person, that person is related;
2o if it was introduced by an individual: the language used by the individual;
3o in all other cases: the language in which the officer, to whom the operation is entrusted, took his or her qualifying examination. If the officer did not undergo an examination, the principal language of the officer shall be used.
2) Directives and instructions addressed to personnel as well as domestic department forms shall be drawn up in French and in Dutch.
3) In its relations with the departments of the French- or Dutch-language areas, the local departments of Bruxelles-Capitale shall use the language of that area.
Section 18
The local departments set up in Bruxelles-Capitale shall draw up in French and in Dutch all notices, communications and forms intended for the public.
However, any publication relating to civil status shall be exclusively in the language of the act to which it relates.
Section 19
Any local department of Bruxelles-Capitale shall use, in its relations with an individual, the language used by the interested party, when that language is either French or Dutch.
However, responses to a private business established in a commune of the French- or Dutch-language areas which does not have special arrangements are given in the language of that commune.
Section 20
1) Local departments set up in Bruxelles-Capitale shall draw up in French or in Dutch, according to the wishes of the interested party, any act which involves individuals, as well as certificates, declarations and authorizations issued to such individuals.
2) Commune administrations set up in Bruxelles-Capitale shall draw up in their original language transcripts of acts of civil status originally written in French or Dutch. For transcripts of civil status acts originally drawn up in German, they shall request from the governor of Liège province a certified true translation, constituting an official or true copy, if this is not provided by the originating administration. This translation shall be drawn up in French or in Dutch, according to the wishes of the interested party or, if no such wish is stated, according to the circumstances.
These same administrations shall attach, as required, a translation of any act which must be transcribed outside Bruxelles-Capitale, unless the act is to be transcribed in German, in which case the recipient administration shall do the translation itself. However, if a Dutch-language act is to be transcribed in a commune of the German-language area, the recipient administration shall request a translation from the governor of Liège province.
Section 21
1) Any candidate applying for an office or position in the local departments established in Bruxelles-Capitale shall, if required, take a qualifying examination in French or in Dutch, depending on whether, as evidenced by the required degree, certificate of studies or declaration from the school principal, the individual has studied in either such language.
If no qualifying examination is required, the principal language of the candidate shall be determined by the language of study, as evidenced by the aforementioned documents.
Any candidate having studied in a language other than French or Dutch, either abroad or in the German-language area, who may avail himself or herself of legally recognized equivalencies for a degree or certificate, shall take the qualifying examination in French or in Dutch, at their option. If the appointment is not preceded by a qualifying examination, knowledge of the principal language chosen shall be ascertained through a prior examination.
Throughout the career of the public employee or officer, rank examinations shall be taken in the principal language of the employee, as determined on the basis of the criteria set out above.
2) If a qualifying examination is required, it shall include, for each candidate, a written test on the basic knowledge of the second language.
If a qualifying examination is not required, the candidate shall, prior to his or her appointment, take a written examination dealing with the same knowledge.
3) Subparagraphs 1 and 2 are not applicable to personnel in trades and labour positions.
4) Any appointment or promotion to a position which makes the position holder responsible, with regards to the authority to which it is subject, for maintaining a jurisprudence or management unit within the department in which such executive management functions are being entrusted shall be conditional on the successful completion of a written examination dealing with the adequate knowledge of a second language.
5) Without prejudice to the foregoing provisions, no individual may be appointed or promoted to a position or office which includes contact with the public without demonstrating, through a complementary oral test or special oral examination, that he or she has an adequate or basic knowledge of the second language, as appropriate to the nature of the office to be performed.
6) The aforesaid examinations or tests shall take place under the supervision of the permanent secretary, recruiting department.
7) During personnel recruitment, the administrations of the communes and public agencies which are under the direction of the communes shall apportion at parity, between the two language groups, at least 50% of the positions to be assigned.
Without prejudice to the provisions of section 68(1), within a maximum of ten years beginning on September 1, 1963, positions which are equal or superior to that of head of division shall be held in equal numbers by public employees belonging to each language group.
Section 22
Notwithstanding the provisions of this part, establishments whose cultural activities exclusively concern one language group are subject to the arrangements applying to the corresponding area.
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CHAPTER IV Use of Languages in Regional Departments
Section 32
For the application of the present coordinated laws, regional departments mean the departments defined in subsection 1(2) whose activities extend to more than one commune, but excluding those departments whose activities extend nation-wide.
The field of activities of a regional department is hereinafter referred to as "the region".
Section 33
1) Any regional department whose activities extend exclusively to communes of the French- or Dutch-language areas which does not have special arrangements, and whose head office is located in that area, shall exclusively use the language of that area in its domestic departments, its relations with the departments to which it reports and with other departments in the same language area and in Bruxelles-Capitale.
It shall prepare notices, communications and forms intended for the public exclusively in the language of the area.
It shall exclusively use the language of the area in its relations with individuals, without prejudice to the allowance made for corresponding with any individual residing in another language area in the language used by the interested person.
It shall draw up in the language of the area all acts affecting individuals, as well as all certificates, declarations and authorizations that are issued to individuals. Any interested person who establishes a case for it may obtain a translation, subject to the conditions set out in subsection 13(1).
2) Any regional department whose activities extend exclusively to communes which do not have special arrangements and which are in the Dutch- or French-language areas, and whose head office is located in Bruxelles-Capitale, shall be subject to the authority of subsection 1.
Section 34
1) This subsection shall be applicable to:
a) any regional department whose activities extend to communes in the French- or Dutch-language areas and which have either special arrangements or different arrangements, and whose head office is located in the same area;
b) any regional department whose activities extend to communes in the German-language area and whose head office is located in the same area.
The regional department, so defined, shall exclusively use the language of the area in which it is established, in its domestic departments, in its relations with the departments to which it reports and in its relations with other departments in the same language area and in Bruxelles-Capitale. In its relations with local departments set up in the same district, it shall use the language used by the domestic department thereof.
It shall prepare notices and communications issued to the public and the forms delivered directly to the public exclusively in the language(s) imposed with respect thereto on local departments in the commune where its head office is located. However, when a regional department is set up in a commune without special arrangements, the public from the communes of the district which are subject to another language authority or which have special language arrangements shall retain the same rights as they have in the said communes, with regard to forms issued directly. Notices, communications and forms which reach the public through the local departments shall be drawn up in the language(s) imposed on them for similar types of documents.
The aforesaid regional department shall use in its relations with any individual the language imposed on such matters by the local departments of the commune in which the interested person resides.
Acts, certificates, declarations and authorizations shall be drawn up in the language which must be used by the local departments of the commune in which the applicant resides. When, applying this rule, the interested person does not have any language alternative, that individual may, so long as a case for it is established, obtain a translation of the document, subject to the conditions set out in subsection 13(1).
2) the language arrangements set out in subsection 35(1) shall be applicable to any regional department whose head office is set up in Bruxelles-Capitale and whose activities extend to communes in the French- and the Dutch-language areas. To that effect, the commune in which the head office is located shall be considered to be part of the district.
Section 35
1) Any regional department whose activities extend:
a) either exclusively to communes in Bruxelles-Capitale;
b) or to communes in Bruxelles-Capitale and, at the same time, to communes in either the French- or Dutch-language areas, or in both of these areas.
shall be subject to the same arrangements as those of local departments established in Bruxelles-Capitale.
2) Any regional department whose activities extend to communes in the country's four language areas shall be subject to the language arrangements set out in Chapter V for administrative departments whose activities extend nation-wide.
Section 36
1) Any regional department whose activities extend to communes in several language areas, excluding that of Bruxelles-Capitale, and whose head office is not located in a Malmédy commune or in a German-language area commune, shall use, in its domestic departments and its relations with the departments to which it reports, either French or Dutch, according to the following distinctions:
1o for matters the location of which is or can be identified as being in the French- or Dutch-language areas: the language of that area;
2o for matters concerning any staff member: the language in which the interested person took his or her qualifying examination or, in the absence of such an examination, the language of the group which corresponds to the language in which the person studied, according to the required degree or certificate;
3o for all other matters: the language of the area in which the department has its head office.
In its relations with the local departments of its district, it shall use the language of the area in which the local department is set up.
For such notices, communications and forms intended for the public, in its relations with individuals, and in the drawing up of acts, certificates, declarations and authorizations, it shall be subject to subsection 34(1).
2) If required, the King shall determine, in accordance with the principles which govern subsection 1, the language arrangements which apply to any regional department whose activities extend to communes in several language areas, other than Bruxelles-Capitale, and whose head office is established in a Malmédy commune or in the German-language area.
Section 37
In their relations with local departments established in the peripheral communes, the regional departments which answer to the said local departments, as well as any regional departments established in the Dutch-language area, shall use the Dutch language.
Section 38
1) No individual may be appointed or promoted to an office or position in the departments defined in section 33 or subsection 34(1) if that individual does not know the language of the area. This knowledge is verified according to the rules set out in subsection 15(1).
2) All personnel of those departments defined in subsection 36(1) shall know the language of the area in which the head office of the department is located. The authority may recruit personnel who also know one of the other two languages.
3) The departments defined in subsections 34(1) or 36(1) shall be organized in such a way that, in the region's communes, the public may make use of the languages recognized by this law, without any difficulty.
4) All personnel of the departments referred to in subsection 34(2) or subsection 35(1) shall be subject to the provisions of these coordinated laws which apply to the personnel of the local departments set up in Bruxelles-Capitale.
5) All personnel of the departments referred to in subsection 35(2) shall be subject to the provisions of these coordinated laws which apply to administrative departments whose activities are nation-wide.
CHAPTER V Use of Languages in Departments Whose Activities Are Nation-Wide
Part I Central Departments
Section 39
[...]
2) In their relations with the local and regional departments of the French-, Dutch- and German-language areas, the central departments shall use the area language.
They shall use the Dutch language in their relations with departments set up in the peripheral communes.
3) All instructions addressed to personnel, and all forms and printed material intended for the domestic department, shall be drawn up in French and in Dutch.
Section 40
All notices and communications to the public by the central departments through local departments shall be subject to the language arrangements imposed by these coordinated laws with respect to the said departments.
The same shall apply to the forms that, in a similar manner, are made available to the public.
All notices and communications which the central departments make directly to the public shall be drawn up in French and in Dutch. The same shall apply to the forms which they themselves make available to the public. Forms drawn up in German shall, where necessary, be kept readily available for the German-language public.
Section 41
1) The central departments shall use, in their relations with individuals, the one language among the three which the individuals have used.
2) However, they shall respond to private enterprises established in one of the communes with special arrangements in the French- or Dutch-language areas, in the language of that area.
Section 42
The central departments shall draw up acts, certificates, declarations and authorizations in the one language, among the three, of which the interested person requests the use.
Section 43
1) In any case where the nature of the business and the number of officers justifies it, the administrations of central departments shall be grouped into French-language and Dutch-language directorates or divisions, offices and sections.
2) Public employees having ranks equal or superior to that of director shall be apportioned among three purviews: a French-language purview, a Dutch-language purview, and a bilingual purview.
All other officers shall be apportioned between two purviews: a French-language purview and a Dutch-language purview.
All public employees and officers shall be listed by language on the French-language or Dutch-language list.
3) The King shall determine for each central department the number of positions to allocate to the French- and Dutch-language purviews, taking into consideration, for each level of the hierarchy, the significance that the French- and Dutch language areas respectively represent for each department.
However, at ranks equal or superior to that of director, positions shall be apportioned, in equal numbers, between the two purviews, for all levels of the hierarchy.
The bilingual purview shall comprise 20% of the total staff in positions ranked equal or superior to that of director. These offices shall be reserved in equal numbers, at all levels of the hierarchy, for public employees from the two language lists.
To qualify as a bilingual manager, public employees shall demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the second language before a jury appointed by the permanent secretary, recruiting department. Public employees with degrees confirming that their second language was their language of studies shall be exempt from this examination.
For the purposes of applying the preceding rules, the King shall determine the various ranks constituting the same position level.
The proposed apportioning of positions among the various language purviews shall be subject to prior notice from the Commission permanente de contrôle linguistique.
After consultation with the said commission, the King may issue a decree, with reasons, which has been deliberated by the council of ministers, to waive the rule on the numerical equality of managerial positions, on behalf of central departments whose appointments or activities are not equally significant for the French- and Dutch-language areas.
4) If so required, public employees and officers shall take their qualifying examinations in French or in Dutch, depending on whether, as evidenced by the required degree, certificate of studies or declaration from the school principal, the individual has studied in one of those languages. They may demonstrate, through a prior examination, that their knowledge of the other language is equal to that of their language of studies and take the qualifying examination in that language.
The language arrangements of the qualifying examination shall determine the language list to which the public employees and officers are assigned. In the absence of such an examination, the assignment shall be determined by the language of studies, as determined by the required degree, certificate of studies or declaration from the school principal.
Any candidate who has studied abroad in a language other than French or Dutch who avails himself or herself of legally recognized equivalencies for a degree or certificate shall take the qualifying examination in French or in Dutch, at their option. If the appointment is not preceded by a qualifying examination, knowledge of the list language to which the interested person wishes to be assigned shall be ascertained through a prior examination.
Candidates who have studied in the German-language area may take their qualifying examination in German provided they take an additional examination dealing with their knowledge of French or Dutch, depending on whether they wish to be assigned to the French- or Dutch-language list. Transfer from one list to another is forbidden, except in the case of a manifest error in the assignment.
Rank examinations shall take place in the language of the list to which the recipients are assigned.
5) Promotions shall take place by purview. Public employees who have demonstrated their bilingualism according to the conditions set out above may participate in promotions under both the bilingualism purview and the purview corresponding to the list to which they are assigned. The application of this rule may not, however, adversely affect the equilibrium decreed for the bilingual purview.
6) When the head of an administrative department is unilingual, that individual shall have a bilingual assistant for the purposes of maintaining the jurisprudence unit. The assistant may not belong to the same list as the head, and shall be vested in advance with the same rank as, or the rank immediately below, that of the head.
7) The decrees with which the King shall execute subsections 1 through 6 shall be published in the Moniteur belge in the year following September 1, 1963.
These decrees shall set the dates on which the provisions of these subsections shall be put into force, either in whole or in part, and shall establish, for the duration of the time prescribed hereinafter, transitory provisions on behalf of public employees and officers who are employed on September 1, 1963, without, however, delaying the complete application of this section for more than five years from the coming into force of the decrees themselves.
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CHAPTER VI Special Provisions
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Section 52
1) For acts and documents required by law and by regulation, and for those intended for their personnel, all industrial, commercial and financial businesses shall use the language of the area in which their head office or their different principal places of business is or are established.
In Bruxelles-Capitale, these documents, which are intended for French-language personnel, shall be drawn up in French, and those intended for Dutch-language personnel shall be drawn up in Dutch.
2) Without prejudice to the obligations imposed on them by subsection 1, these businesses may add to the notices, communications, acts, certificates and forms intended for their personnel a translation into one or several languages, when this is justified by the language composition of the personnel.
[...]
Section 56
Royal decrees and ministerial orders shall be drawn up in French and in Dutch.
However, they may be unilingual when they relate exclusively either to the French- or Dutch-language region or to one of the language purviews or lists for the departments defined in sections 39 to 47.
Bilingual royal decrees and ministerial orders shall be drawn up first in the language prescribed by section 39, and then translated.
Bilingual royal decrees and ministerial orders shall be published in their entirety in the Moniteur belge, within one month of their date, with the French and Dutch texts appearing on facing pages.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, when they do not concern all citizens, extracts or descriptions may be published in the Moniteur belge instead of the text in its entirety. If their publication does not represent any public benefit, they may remain unpublished.
A description of Royal decrees and ministerial orders drawn up in a single language may be published in the Moniteur belge; if such a mention does not present any public benefit, it may be left out.
Laws and regulations may prescribe another mode of publication for royal decrees and ministerial orders.
CHAPTER VIII Monitoring
Part I General Supervision
Section 60
1) A Commission permanente de Contrôle linguistique, whose mission is to supervise the application of the present coordinated laws, shall be set up.
2) The Commission shall comprise 11 members appointed by the King for a period of four years. Members shall be chosen among candidates presented by the French, Dutch and German cultural councils. The French and Dutch cultural councils shall each present candidates for five of the mandates to be conferred, and the German cultural council for one mandate. From these candidates, the King shall name a further 11 substitute members.
Membership in the Commission is incompatible with the performance of any political mandate.
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Section 61
In carrying out its mission, the Commission shall report to the government all suggestions and observations deemed necessary as a result of its findings.
Section 62
Each year, in the month of March, the Commission shall present a detailed report of its activities to the government.
Such detailed report shall be delivered to the members of the Chambres legislatives (state houses).
In a complementary report, the Minister of the Interior shall report to the Chambres législatives on the business in which the Minister has taken over the role of the Commission, in accordance with subsections (61)2 and (61)6.
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To be annexed to Our decree of July 18, 1966.
BAUDOUIN
