The Coremans-De Vriendt Law, also dubbed the Law of Equality ( nl, Gelijkheidswet), was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

passed on 18 April 1898 which enforced formal legal equality of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and French languages in the country. It is seen as a landmark in the history of the Flemish Movement and of Language legislation in Belgium, linguistic equality in Belgium. The law was named after two Flemish deputies, Juliaan De Vriendt and Edward Coremans, who proposed the law. The law decreed equal validity for legal texts written in both French and Dutch, as well as decreeing bilingual signage in Flanders. As a result, parliamentary debates could be held in both languages and henceforth all laws were voted, passed and published in legally equivalent French and Dutch versions. The law followed a period of greater official acceptance of Dutch, starting in around 1886 when coins became bilingual. The law's passing, along with the introduction of universal male suffrage (but with plural voting) in 1893, caused the Flemish Movement to enter a "third stage" of mass-membership - facilitated also by the major electoral reform of 1899.

References

Bibliography

* * *{{cite book, last1=Hermans, first1=Theo, title=The Flemish Movement: A Documentary History, 1780-1990, date=1992, publisher=Athlone Press, location=London, isbn=0-485-11368-6 History of Flanders 1898 in Belgium Flemish Movement Bilingualism in Belgium Belgian legislation