Fundamental Rights Section 2 Fundamental rights section Excerpt from the 24th/25th report of the Ombudsman Board to the Carinthian Parliament (2004 – 2005) 2.1 Place-name sign dispute – Attempted by-passing of the findings of the VfGH (Verfassungsgerichtshof - Austrian Constitutional Court) (VA BD/4-BKA/06, 16-BKA/06) With decision VfSlg. 16.404/2001, the VfGH – among others – rescinded the road signs referred to in Article 1 Section B) Point 1 of the ordinance of the Völkermarkt Regional Administrative Authority of August 17, 1982, along St. Kanzianer Strasse L116, regarding the place names contained in the version of the ordinance dated September 30, 1992: 'St. Kanzian' and 'St. Kanzian, Klopein' as being illegal on expiry of December 31, 2002. With a decision dated December 12, 2005, V 64/-5, the VfGH, in Section B) point 3 lit. a and b of Article 1 of the ordinance of the Völkermarkt Regional Administrative Authority dated July 15, 1982, in the version of the ordinance dated November 11, 1998, rescinded the words 'Bleiburg-Ebersdorf' and 'Bleiburg' as being illegal and declared that the rescission would come into effect upon expiry of June 30, 2006. Based on the direct applicability of the constitutional provision of Art. 7 point 3 second sentence of the Vienna State Treaty, the VfGH emphasised the legal obligation of the district administrative authority, 'upon enacting the traffic police ordinance, to define the place name in both German and Slovenian language. With respect to the Slovenian place name, this is – as long as an ordinance by the federal government pursuant to Article 12 para. 2 of the Law on Ethnic Groups does not apply – to be defined by the district administrative authority, under its own responsibility.' In January 2006, the Ombudsman Board became aware that the place names, 'St. Kanzian' and 'St. Kanzian, Klopein' are still only posted in German language, more than three years after the rescission declared by the VfGH coming into effect. Furthermore, the Carinthian Governor, Dr. Jörg Haider, and the Deputy Governor, Gerhard Dörfler, announced several times in the media that they intended to prevent the definition of place names in German and Slovenian language, which was regarded by the VfGH as being necessary under constitutional law, in its decision V 64/05. On February 8, 2006, the 'shifting and new position- 25