However, the charter does not provide any criterion or definition for an idiom to be a minority or a regional language, and the classification stays in the hands of the national state.

The United Kingdom has ratified the Charter in respect to (among other languages) Welsh in Wales, Scots and Gaelic in Scotland, and Irish in Northern Ireland.

The charter provides many actions state parties can take to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages.

The Charter does not provide procedures for reactive judicial processing in case of lack of compliance but rather an elaborate proactive regular monitoring process in which the Committee of Experts drafts formal feedback and recommendations in regard to the situation in countries parties to the charter.

Part II of the Charter details eight main principles and objectives upon which States must base their policies and legislation.