[lg policy] Ed. 28 - September -2009 . Catalan Language News

Wed Oct 7 13:06:55 UTC 2009

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Catalan Language News <info at estudinord.com>
Date: Wed, Oct 7, 2009 at 8:17 AM
Subject: Ed. 28 - September -2009 . Juristes per la Llengua
To: haroldfs at ccat.sas.upenn.edu

  *Catalan Language News 28 - September -2009 . Juristes per la Llengua*
*WHO ARE WE?*
 The Catalan Language Observatory was set up in 2004 by cultural
organisations from all the Catalan-speaking lands, with the purpose of
monitoring the Catalan language rigorously and objectively.

 *MEMBERSHIP*
 *The following organisations are members of the Observatory:*
· Acció Cultural del País Valencià <http://www.acpv.net/php/index.php>
· Associació de Juristes per la llengua
<http://www.juristesperlallengua.cat/>
· Casal Jaume I de Fraga <http://www.acpv.net/casals/fraga.html>
· Casal Jaume I de Perpinyà <http://www.acpv.net/casals/perpinya.html>
· Centre Internacional Escarré per a les Minories Ètniques i les
Nacions<http://www.ciemen.cat/>(CIEMEN)
· Centre Unesco de Catalunya <http://www.unescocat.org/en>
· Comitè de Seguiment de la Declaració Universal de Drets
Lingüístics<http://www.linguistic-declaration.org/index-gb.htm>
· Consell de Col·legis d'Advocats de Catalunya <http://www.cicac.org/>
· Culturalnord <http://pro.wanadoo.fr/catnet/Culturalnord.html>
· Fundació Congrés de Cultura Catalana <http://www.fundccc.cat/>
· Institut Linguapax <http://www.linguapax.org/en/homeang.html>
· Obra Cultural Balear <http://www.ocbweb.org/>
· Observatori de la Universitat d'Alacant <http://www.ua.es/spv/observatori>
· Omnium Cultural <http://www.omnium.cat/>
· Omnium Cultural de l'Alguer <http://www.omnium.cat/index.php?cov_ID=22>
· Organització pel Multilingüisme <http://www.om-plural.org/indexeng.html>
· Plataforma per la llengua <http://www.plataforma-llengua.cat/>

*With the support of:*
· Institute of Catalan
Studies<http://www.iec.cat/gc/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=148&languageId=1&contentId=-1>
· Television of Catalonia <http://www.tv3.cat/ptvcatalunya/tvcHome.jsp>
· IJLV <http://www.llengua.info/>- the Joan Lluís Vives Institute -, whose
members are the following universities:
- Abat Oliba CEU University<http://www.uao.es/cream/?site=uao&page=1&idioma=ca>
- Autonomous University of
Barcelona<http://www.uab.es/servlet/Satellite?cid=1101231878924&pagename=UAB%2FPage%2FTemplateHomeUAB>
- International University of Catalonia <http://www.unica.edu/primera.uic>
- Jaume I University <http://www.uji.es/UK/basic>
- Miguel Hernández University <http://www.umh.es/> (Elx)
- Open University of Catalonia <http://www.uoc.edu/web/eng/index.html>
- Pompeu Fabra University <http://www.upf.es/english/web>
- Ramon Llull University <http://www.url.es/en/index.php>
- Rovira i Virgili University <http://www.urv.es/en_index.html>
- Technical University of Catalonia <http://www.upc.edu/eng>
- Technical University of Valencia <http://www.upv.es/menui.html>
- University of Alacant <http://www.ua.es/en/index.html>
- University of Andorra <http://www.uda.ad/index.php>
- University of the Balearic Islands <http://www.uib.es/en>
- University of Barcelona <http://www.ub.edu/homeub/welcome.html>
- University of Girona <http://www.udg.es/>
- University of Lleida <http://www.udl.es/perfils/visitors.html>
- University of Perpinyà <http://www.univ-perp.fr/>
- University of Valencia <http://www.uv.es/~webuv/ingles/index.htm>
- University of Vic <http://www.uvic.cat/en/inici.html>

*With the support of:*

GENERALITAT DE CATALUNYA

INSTITUT RAMON LLULL

 *LINKS TO SITES WITH GENERAL INFORMATION ON CATALAN*
 Generalitat de Catalunya <http://www.gencat.net/index_eng.htm> *Government
of Catalonia*
Govern de les Illes Balears <http://www.caib.es/govern/index.jsp> *Government
of the Balearic Islands*
Generalitat Valenciana<http://http//www.gva.es/jsp/portalgv.jsp?br=1&re=1&co=es&chflash=true&force=si>
*Government of the Valencian Community*
Parlament de Catalunya<http://www.parlament-cat.net/portal/page?_pageid=34,33596&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL>
*Parliament of Catalonia*
IEC <http://www.iec.cat/>
*Institute of Catalan Studies*
institut Ramon Llull <http://www.llull.cat/llull/index.jsp?idioma=en>
*Ramon Llull Institute *

 *CONTACT US*
 *Observatori de la llengua catalana*
C/ de la Diputació, 276, pral.
08009 BARCELONA
info at observatoridelallengua.cat
00 34 93 319 80 50

    *28 - September -2009 . Juristes per la Llengua *

*Juristes per la Llengua
(Jurists in pro of Language)

The struggle to normalize the use of Catalan in the legal systems

By MONTSE ROSELL, Journalist*

Current legislation states that both Catalan and Spanish are official
languages in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencia. Therefore, they
can both be used without distinction in all spheres of life, both public and
private. However, the Catalan language is seriously marginalized in the
legal system. This has lead to intolerabl e situations of conflict and
discrimination affecting people using their own language.

In view of this situation, in 2003 the Association of Jurists for the
Defence of our Language (AJDLP in Catalan) was established. This body,
founded by a group of professionals working in the legal field (lawyers,
barristers, university professors, magistrates, notaries, procurators and
staff from the legal administration, among others) aims at safeguarding the
right to use Catalan for legal purposes and in the courts. This is why it
seeks to find the necessary tools so that anyone wishing to do so can
effectively use Catalan, so that, thanks to this collective effort, Catalan
is used in this field with absolute normality.

Juristes per la Llengua considers it necessary to demand measures that will
remove all barriers to the use of Catalan, and to provide jurists and public
administrations with the essential tools to foster the Catalan language.

The right to use our own language within our territory, in both public and
private spheres, is a fundamental right, as set out in the principles
established in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of
the United Nations, and in accordance with the spirit of the European
Council's Convention for the protection of human rights and fundamental
freedoms and the European Charter for regional and minority languages.

The Catalan Statute of Autonomy states that both judges and other staff
working for the Legal Administrations must have an appropriate and
sufficient level in both official languages, enabling them to undertake the
tasks demanded for their posts.

The Association would like to remind citizens that they can exert the
following linguistic rights in dealing with the legal authorities:
-Oral and written legal procedures in Catalan are valid without need of any
translation.
-Citizen may address courts in Catalan, both orally or in writing.
-Judicial staff have the obligation to attend to citizens using Catalan.
-Under no circumstance can a citizen be forced to change language.
-Citizens involved in any procedure being dealt with in Catalonia can ask
for the procedure to be dealt with in Catalan.
-Citizens have the right to receive documents issued by the legal
administrations in Catalonia in whichever of the two official languages,
without any delay due to the language.
-Citizens have the right to have anything they state in front of a court or
tribunal recorded in the language which they have used.
-Citizens have the right to deal with State constitutional and
jurisdictional bodies in Catalan, and these have the obligations to attend
and process their written documents.

Ever since the association was created, the wish of Juristes per la Llengua
has been to disappear eventually, since this would mean that the use of
Catalan has been normalized. But for this to happen, we have to continue
sending complaints until social pressure is strong enough for Catalan,
thanks to us all, to break out of the current stalemate

*Past editions of this Newsletter can be accessed by clicking here:*
estudiNord/clb.com <http://www.estudinord.com/clb/>

      <http://www.cataloniatoday.cat/> <http://www.eurotribune.net/>
<http://www.observatoridelallengua.cat/observatori.php?llengua=en>

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