A legal opinion obtained by the Afrikaanse Taalraad (= Afrikaans Languages Board / ATR) and AfriForum from the international language rights specialist, Prof Fernand de Varennes, finds the Official Languages Act, passed by parliament on 7 August 2012, to be seriously flawed to such an extent that it might even be unconstitutional.
The legal opinion, which has just been received from Prof De Varennes, identifies four key requirements that legislation has to comply with in order to ensure that language rights are properly managed and realised in a multilingual country. Such legislation should:
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Be extreme clear and unambiguous;
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Provide for proportionality in the official use of such languages;
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Provide for institutions that will ensure the use of the prescribed languages;
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Provide for effective remedies to ensure compliance with the legislation.
He finds that the Act does not comply with any of these requirements and is so vague and ambiguous that it could result in the unconstitutional use of the country’s official languages.
Both AfriForum and the ATR are concerned about the future effectiveness of the Act, as the accurate and fair management of language rights in a multilingual nation such as South Africa is essential to ensure social cohesion and stability. These organisations therefore cooperated to obtain the international legal opinion of Prof De Varennes and to refine it with the help of local experts of, amongst others, the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns, for being made available to and use by all role players in the field of language rights in the country.
According to Alana Bailey, Deputy CEO of AfriForum and Vice Chairperson of the ATR, the document is currently being finalised for presentation by the ATR to the Minister of Arts and Culture. “Afterwards we will make it available to all interested parties,” Bailey said. “It is hoped that the Minister will amend the deficiencies that the opinion identifies before the implementation of the Act. If not, the document presents a thorough background for any legal action against the State in this regard. Another ideal is that a South African university will be inspired by the document to introduce a course in language rights in the near future.”
