{"id":202,"date":"2023-11-30T18:10:01","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T18:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alliasbl.lu\/?page_id=202"},"modified":"2025-10-22T11:38:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T09:38:31","slug":"know-your-rights","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/alliasbl.lu\/en\/enseignement-a-domicile\/connaitre-vos-droits\/","title":{"rendered":"Knowing your rights"},"content":{"rendered":"
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At present, while national governments are supposed to provide free and compulsory education for all without delay, the right of parents to choose their child's mode of education is, according to the UN, \"violated to a greater or lesser extent in all countries of the world\". This failure to recognise the right of parents is detrimental to the child's right to education. It is therefore essential to be fully aware of one's rights, both as a parent and as a child. 
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Contents
<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

A. Fundamental rights (superior laws)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

B. <\/strong>Luxembourg legislation<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1.  Constitutional law and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. International treaties under Luxembourg law<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. National law<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n


    <\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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    A. Fundamental rights <\/strong>
    (hierarchically superior laws)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    According to Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights :

    1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be     mandatory<\/a>. Technical and vocational education must be generalised; access to higher education must be open to all on the basis of merit.
    2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial and religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
    3. Parents have, as a priority, the right to choose the kind of education to give their children.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


    For the international community, Article 26 represented a significant break with the past and introduced a new definition of the right to education, explicitly stating the prior right of parents to choose as a matter of priority the mode of education of their child, imposing significant new restrictions on the nature and extent of State intervention<\/strong>.

    The right to education, as defined in Article 26, is based on the principle that the State must guarantee universal access to education, but that the primary responsibility for this education and the right to determine it rests with the parents. Control of education could not be left to the sole discretion of the State; parents had to be free to determine the spirit in which they wished their children to be educated.    1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n


    This principle corresponds to article 16 of the UDHR, which states that \"the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State\", and to article 12, which guarantees that \"no one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family or home...\". \"Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks\" (UN, 1948).<\/p>\n\n\n\n


    In the diagram below, the right to education is represented by three interdependent components, which interact not only with each other but also with the surrounding environment, without implying any hierarchical order:

    - the first deals with access to education,
    - the second of the content or objectives of education, and
    - the third affirms the primary right of parents to choose the type of education they wish to give their children.

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    <\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    <\/div>\n\n\n\n
    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    It is only when the three components interact together that the right to education is guaranteed.<\/strong> - the whole (the right to education) is therefore greater than the sum of its parts. This interpretation of Article 26 also confirms that the three components are interconnected and that a policy change affecting one of them will also influence the others. This underlines the importance of recognising and taking into account the hidden costs and unintended consequences that are so often associated with government interventions in education.
    Neither state policy nor parental choice should undermine the aims of education.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Parents' real freedom of choice is proportional to the reality of the educational diversity available. Are there enough different schools and are they affordable for all parents?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Moreover, there is an obvious contradiction between the state's monopoly on education and the guarantee of parents' right to choose how their children are educated. As Huxley (1951) has already pointed out, this contradiction is comparable to the guarantee of citizens' right to choose their representatives in one-party countries.

    In other words, if parental choice cannot be exercised because of the lack of diversity in the educational landscape, then not going to school remains the only area accessible to the greatest number of people that allows genuine freedom of educational choice while respecting fundamental rights.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


    <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    B. Luxembourg legislation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    a) Constitutional law and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The new Luxembourg Constitution, which came into force on 1st<\/sup> July 20232<\/a><\/sup> Article 2 states that The Luxembourg nation is founded on the principles of the rule of law and respect for human rights.
    <\/a>

    On education, article 33<\/a> tells us that :

    (1) Everyone has the right to education.
    (2) The State shall organise education and guarantee access thereto.
    The length of compulsory education is determined by law.
    Public basic and secondary education is free.
    (3) Freedom of education shall be exercised with respect for the values of a democratic society based on fundamental rights and freedoms. civil liberties<\/em>.    3<\/a><\/sup>
    State intervention in private education is determined by law.
    (4) All persons are free to study in Luxembourg or abroad and to attend the universities of their choice. The conditions for the recognition of diplomas are determined by law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


    In Article 15 \u00a75, the Luxembourg Constitution also states that :

    \" The child's best interests are paramount in any decision affecting him or her.<\/strong> Every child is free to express his or her opinion on any matter that concerns him or her. His or her views shall be given due weight in accordance with his or her age and understanding. Every child has the right to such protection, measures and care as are necessary for his or her well-being and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the hierarchy of laws, the Luxembourg Constitution has supreme legal value, taking precedence over all other national laws.4<\/a><\/sup>.

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It is also important to remember that, since it involves implementing European Union rights, in particular the right to education and the rights of the child, the European Charter of Fundamental Rights - a very modern catalogue of human rights - is legally binding on the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg as a Member State of the European Union.
     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The European Parliament stressed that \" the national authorities (judicial authorities, law enforcement agencies and administrative authorities) play a key role in giving practical effect to the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Charter<\/em> \".
    This European Charter of Fundamental Rights has the same value as international treaties under Luxembourg law, as well as other charters or covenants that are just as relevant.    5<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    b) International treaties under Luxembourg law<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Under Luxembourg law, the law of 29 August 1953<\/strong> (M\u00e9m. 53 of 29 August 1953, p.1099) approved the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, signed in Rome on 4 November 1950, and the Additional Protocol, signed in Paris on 20 March 1952, so that :

    <\/em> \"No one shall be denied the right to education. The State, in the exercise of the functions it assumes in the field of education and teaching, shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in accordance with their religious and philosophical convictions\".<\/em>

    <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In Luxembourg, it has also been accepted for several decades by the courts that an international treaty takes precedence over national law.

    The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) was incorporated into Luxembourg domestic law on 3 September 1953. Since then, it has been clearly stated that the Convention applies in Luxembourg law, as do other texts of international law (treaties), as long as their content is clear and precise enough<\/strong>. This means that any citizen can invoke one of the articles of the Convention directly before a court, whether it be a criminal court, a civil court, a commercial court, etc.    6<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The International Convention on the Rights of the Child<\/strong> (CRC) was ratified by the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies in December 1993. With this ratification, the Grand Duchy undertook to respect the rights set out in this text: the right to the best health care, to education, to protection against all forms of violence, to protection against discrimination, to intimacy and protection of privacy, to participation, etc.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The United Nations has issued a number of recommendations to clarify the content and interpretation of human rights.7<\/a><\/sup> and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)8<\/a><\/sup>.

    Noting that children and young people are the silent victims of global bureaucracies, whose creative statistics and evasive vocabulary mask their inability to translate their promises into reality, the deceased     Katarina Toma\u0161evski<\/a>the UN Special Rapporteur wrote her conclusions in a global report in 20069<\/a><\/sup> and launched a website entirely dedicated to protecting the right to education1<\/a>0<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    c) National law<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Finally, the humanist values of fundamental rights are also reflected in national legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The new law of 20 July 2023<\/strong>1<\/a>1<\/sup> which comes into force on 31 July 2023, repeals the law of 6 February 2009 on compulsory education.
    However, the amended law of 6 February 2009 on the organisation of basic education is still in force.    1<\/a>2<\/sup>

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n