The Linguistic Regime of the European Union in the Context of International Law
The Linguistic Regime of the European Union in the Context of International Law

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the linguistic regime of the European Union in the light of international law. The paper contends that although the EU language system is independent and well regulated, international agreements affect it as they are an intrinsic part of the EU legal order once they are concluded by the EU. First, the paper describes the linguistic regime of the EU, its legal basis and the status of the EU languages. Second, it analyses three key aspects of international law, which affect the EU linguistic regime, i.e. selection of languages for the purposes of concluding international agreements, authenticity of texts and interpretation of multilingual law by the Court of Justice of the European Union. Finally, the paper concludes that the international linguistic affects the EU language system in terms of authentic languages, legal terms and their definitions.

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