On Saturday, the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) unanimously approved a resolution from Plataforma per la Llengua for Spain to promote legal reforms to guarantee language equality in the judicial system. Specifically, the European network has demanded the amendment of various articles of the Spanish Legal System Act to allow the normal use of Catalan in this area, urging the courts to promote specific measures to encourage this and the European Commission to investigate the violation of language rights in Spanish courts. The resolution was approved at the organisation's 69th congress held at Bozen-Bulsan-Bolzano, the capital of South Tyrol (Italy), with more than 200 participants. Plataforma per la Llengua took part for the first time as a full member.
The text approved on Saturday by the assembly of delegates deplored the fact that Spanish is imposed as the default language in legal proceedings (as established in Article 231 of the Judicial System Act 6/1985) as a systematic violation of international agreements, and that this violation disproportionately affects Catalan-speakers. In addition, although citizens have the right to receive case documents in Catalan, 8 out of 10 requests of this type are ignored. As the resolution approved by FUEN recalls, fewer than 7% of judicial decisions in Catalonia are issued in Catalan, a percentage out of step with the linguistic situation in the country, and the fact that there is no requirement for judges, prosecutors or civil servants posted to Catalan-speaking territories to know Catalan makes the situation even worse. Catalan-speakers are usually afraid to use their language in court because of the risk of adverse reactions or of compromising their defence.
Because of all this, the FUEN resolution makes three requests. First, it asks the Spanish government and all political parties to amend Articles 231, 483 and 530 of the Judicial System Act 6/1983. This urgent amendment should normalise the use of all official languages in the administration of justice, guarantee that citizens have the right to determine the language of proceedings, and mean that all court staff are sufficiently proficient in the official languages of the region where they work.
The second request is to the Spanish courts: the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the General Council of the Judicial System and the High Courts of Justice of Catalonia, the Valencian Region and the Balearic Islands are asked to adopt proactive measures to guarantee the full, effective equality of minority languages in the judicial system. They are also called on to begin investigations into breaches of language rights, to issue warnings to judges who breach them and, if necessary, to impose penalties.
Finally, the resolution asks the European Commission to investigate the systematic violation of international regulations concerning language rights in the Spanish legal system. In this sense, the European body is asked to urge Spain to carry out the necessary legislative and administrative reforms.
Olivia Schubert, new president of FUEN
The 69th FUEN Congress, the first where Plataforma per la Llengua has taken part as a full member, has made a change in the presidency of the European organisation, choosing Olivia Schubert, from the German minority in Hungary, as its new president. Schubert replaces Loránt Vincze, of the Hungarian minority in Romania. The Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) is the main protector of national minorities and native language groups in Europe, bringing together more than 100 organisations from 36 European states. The organisation began in 1949 in Versailles to give a proper role to the different nations and minorities after the Second World War and it has recently coordinated initiatives like the Minority Safepack, a European legislative initiative to improve the protection of minorities. FUEN is now the voice of national, ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities in international organisations such as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations (UN), where it has a consultative role. It also has participative status in the European Union and the Council of Europe.
The 69th FUEN Congress allowed members to find out about the German and Ladino minorities in South Tyrol
The 69th FUEN Congress was attended by about 200 representatives of European national and language minorities. Representing Plataforma per la Llengua was Maria de Lluc Muñoz, the organisation's head of international affairs. Those attending, from more than 30 different States, were able to see at first hand the situation of the German and Ladino minorities of South Tyrol in Italy. Among those taking part were Arno Kompatscher, governor of South Tyrol; the former UN rapporteur for minorities, Fernand de Varennes; Daniel Alfreider, vice-president of FUEN and deputy governor and representative responsible for Education and Ladino Culture in South Tyrol; and Anna Jungner-Nordgren, president of NPLD (the Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity).
