7.1 In his comments, dated 23 May 1989, the author rejects the State party's contention that the communication is inadmissible because of non-exhaustion of domestic remedies. Thus, he submits that his letter to the Minister of Justice was meant to be an appeal against the decision of the Administrative Tribunal not to register his complaint. Moreover, the State party has failed to indicate to the Committee exactly what kind of remedies would be open to him. To the author, this failure is easily explained, as the State party itself must be well aware that remedies are non-existent, once the court of first instance has refused to register a complaint submitted in Breton. Every subsequent complaint submitted in Breton is bound to suffer the same fate, regardless of which judicial instance is the addressee.
7.2 The author reaffirms that violations of his rights under articles 16, 19, 26 and 27 entail ipso facto a violation of article 2, paragraphs 1 and 2. He adds that several legislative proposals have deliberately been ignored by successive French governments, although .they would have brought France at least partially into compliance with article 2. With respect to article 16, the author qualifies the State party's interpretation as restrictive if not discriminatory. He expresses surprise at its argument that his standing before the court was never at issue despite the fact that his complaint was not even registered, and contends that the refusal of his complaint necessarily meant a denial of standing. Furthermore, lie argues that the Covenant does not link the issue of legal personality to the use, in court, of any specific language, and that in the absence of specific legal rules confirming the use of French as the official language in judicial proceedings, the use of Breton must be considered to be permissible.
7.3 With respect to article 19, paragraph 2, the author contends that freedom of expression cannot be limited to freedom to express oneself in French, and that freedom of expression for citizens of Breton mother tongue can only mean the freedom to express themselves in Breton. Furthermore, the refusal of the Administrative Tribunal to register his complaint is said to have been intended to restrict his freedom of expression, although the limitations laid down in paragraph 3 of article 19 are said to be inapplicable.
7.4 The author dismisses the State party's arguments concerning an alleged violation of article 26 and claims that a proper administration of justice would not rule out the use of Breton in court. He recalls that several States, including Switzerland and Belgium, allow the use of several languages before their courts and do not force their citizens to abandon the use of their mother tongue. The refusal to register his complaint, according to the author, constitutes discrimination on the ground of language, since French citizens of Breton mother tongue do not benefit from the same procedural guarantees before the tribunal as French citizens of French mother tongue.
7.5 Finally, the author indicates that France did not enter a "reservation" with respect to article 27 but contented itself with making a mere "declaration". The author points out that draft legislation supported by many parliamentarians acknowledges the various languages spoken in France as testimony to the singular character of a region or a community. To the author, there can be no doubt that the Breton community constitutes a linguistic minority within the meaning of article 27, entitled to enjoy the right to use its own language, including in the courts.
8.1 Before considering any claims contained in a communication, the Human Rights Committee must, pursuant to rule 87 of its rules of procedure, decide whether or not it is admissible under the Optional Protocol to the Covenant.
8.2 Article 5, paragraph Z(b), of the Optional Protocol precludes the Committee from considering any communication by an individual who has failed to exhaust all available domestic remedies. This is a general rule, which applies unless the remedies are unreasonably prolonged, or the author of a Communication has convincingly demonstrated that domestic remedies are not effective, i. e. do not have any prospect of success.
8.3 On the basis of the information before the Committee, there are no circumstances which would absolve the author from attempting to pursue all domestic remedies. He has not been criminally prosecuted but seeks to initiate proceedings before an administrative court to establish that he has been denied rights protected by'. the Covenant. The purpose of article 5, paragraph 2(b), of the Optional Protocol is, inter alia, to direct possible victims of violations of the provisions of the Covenant to seek, in the first place, satisfaction from the competent State party authorities and, at the same time, to enable States parties to examine, on the basis of individual complaints, the implementation, within their territory and by their organs, of the provisions of the Covenant and, if necessary, remedy the violations occurring, before the Committee is seized of the matter.
8.4 It remains to be determined whether recourse to the French courts must be considered an unavailable or ineffective remedy, given that the author must use French to establish his claim that it is a violation of his rights under the Covenant to have to use French, rather than Breton, in legal proceedings. The Committee observes that the matter of the exclusive use of French to institute proceedings in courts is the issue to be examined at first instance by the French judicial organs and that, under the applicable laws, this can be done only by using French. In view of the fact that the author has demonstrated his proficiency in French, the Committee finds that it would not be unreasonable for him to submit his claim in French to the French courts. Further, no irreparable harm would be done to the author's substantive case by using the French language to pursue his remedy.
8.5 The author has also invoked article 27 of the Covenant claiming that he has been a victim of a breach of its provisions. Upon accession to the Covenant, the French Government declared that "in the light of article 2 of the Constitution of the French Republic,... article 27 [of the Covenant] is not applicable so far as the Republic is concerned." This declaration -. has not been objected to by other States parties, nor has it been withdrawn.
8.6 The Committee is therefore called upon to decide whether this declaration precludes it from examining a communication alleging a violation of article 27. Article 2, paragraph 1 (d), of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties stipulates as follows: 'Reservation' means a unilateral statement, however phrased or named, made by a State, when . . . acceding to a treaty, whereby it purports to exclude or to modify the legal effect of certain provisions of the treaty in their application to that State." The Convention does not make a distinction between reservations and declarations. The Covenant itself does not provide any guidance in determining whether a unilateral statement made by a State party upon accession to it should have preclusionary effect regardless of whether it is termed a reservation or declaration. The Committee observes in this respect that it is not the formal designation but the effect the statement purports to have that determines its nature, If the statement displays a clear intent on the part of the State party to exclude or modify the legal effect of a specific provision of a treaty, it must be regarded as a binding reservation, 'even if the statement is phrased as a declaration. In the present case, the statement entered by the French Government upon accession to the Covenant is clear: it seeks to exclude the application of article 27 to France and emphasizes this exclusion semantically with the words "is not applicable". The statement's intent is unequivocal and thus must be given preclusionary effect in spite of the terminology used. Furthermore, the State party's submission of 15 January 1989 also speaks of a French "reservation" in respect of article 27. Accordingly, 'the Committee considers that it is not competent to consider complaints directed against France concerning alleged violations of article 27 of the Covenant.
9. The Committee therefore decides:
(a) That the communication is inadmissible under articles 2 and 5, paragraph 2 (b), of the Optional Protocol;
(b) That this decision shall be communicated to the State party and to the author of the communication.