At the Luxembourg Government Council on 3 September 2015, the Ministers present held an exchange of views on the procedure for requesting the use of national emblems and coats of arms.
The law of 23 June 1972 prohibits the use of State emblems and coats of arms for any commercial, industrial, professional or advertising purposes, without having expressly been granted authorisation by the Government.
The four national symbols of the Grand Duchy are the state coat of arms, the Luxembourg flag, the national anthem and the national holiday, with the first two protected by law from exploitative use since 1972. The national anthem also became a State-protected symbol in 1993.
The coat of arms of Luxembourg was first created by Henri V, count of Luxembourg, between 1235 and 1239, and can be found in three increasingly elaborate forms ('small', 'medium' and 'great'). Every single municipality of the 105 present in the Grand Duchy possesses its own coat of arms.
Whilst the law of 1972 prohibited the use of Luxembourg national emblems and coats of arms, it did not provide the specific criteria for the allowance or denial of the use of these symbols. The Government cabinet yesterday therefore approved a set of criteria for the authorisation or refusal for the use of these insignia.
The law of 23 June 1972 has therefore been amended and a text detailing the criteria involved will be published by the Chamber of Deputies.
