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The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania (SACL) is hearing an administrative case in which a private educational institution, which provides educational services exclusively in English for a fee, complained against an order issued by the State Language Inspectorate requiring the employees of the institution (teachers, the head teacher and the deputy head teacher) to pass a Lithuanian language exam (or to provide the necessary documents) in accordance with the category of proficiency set out by the legislation.

The panel of judges hearing the case had doubts as to whether the requirement of proficiency in the official language imposed in Lithuania on teachers and the administration of private international schools, without any exceptions, and without any possibility of taking into account the specific circumstances of the activity of the educational establishment concerned, is compatible with the principles of freedom of establishment guaranteed by the European Union and with the regulatory framework laid down by Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications. In those circumstances, the Chamber decided to refer the following questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling:

1. Is Article 49 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to be interpreted as meaning that it includes within its scope the requirement, laid down by national law, to have a knowledge of the national language applicable to the administrative staff and teachers of an educational establishment established by a private natural person and providing an international secondary education programme, an international baccalaureate programme of basic education and a programme of primary education.

2. If the answer to the first question is in the affirmative, must Article 49 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union be interpreted as precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, under which the requirement to know the national language is applied, without exception, in the first place to all teachers, to teachers working in an educational establishment established by private individuals and, second, to the administrative staff of such an establishment, irrespective of any circumstances specific to the operation of the educational establishment concerned.

3. Is Article 53 of Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications to be interpreted as precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, under which the requirement to have a knowledge of the national language is applied, without exception, to all teachers working in an educational establishment established by private individuals which offers international secondary education, international baccalaureate primary education and international elementary education, irrespective of any circumstances specific to the activities of the establishment concerned.

Administrative case No. eA-178-415/2024.