Régimen jurídico de las lenguas y reconocimiento de la diversidad lingüística en el Tratado por el que se establece una Constitución para Europa

The territory of the European Union is made up of a rich and wide-ranging universe of languages, which is not circumscribed to the «State languages». The existence of multilingualism is one of Europe’s defining characteristics and it should remain so in the constantly evolving model of Europe’s political structure. Nonetheless, until now, the official use of languages has been limited to the «State languages» and has been based on a concept of state monolingualism that has led to a first level of hierarchization among the languages of Europe. This has affected the very concept of European language diversity. The draft of the treaty establishing a European Constitution contains various language-related references that can be grouped in two major categories: on the one hand, those references having to do the constitutional status of languages, and on the other, those regarding the recognition of European language diversity. Both issues are dealt with in this article. In analyzing the legal regime governing languages set forth in the draft of the constitutional treaty, we note that the draft is not based on the concept of the official status of languages. The language regulation contained in the draft of the constitutional treaty is limited in character. The constitutional language regime is based on the concept of Constitutional languages but the official status of languages is not governed by this rule. The European Constitution merely enunciates rights governing language use for European citizens vis-à-vis the languages of the Constitution and refers the regulation of the official status of languages to the Council, which is empowered to set and modify that status by unanimous decision. Because of its broad scope, this constitutes a regulatory reservation. In the final phase of the negotiation process a second level of constitutional recognition of languages would be introduced, linked to those that are official languages in the member states (Catalan, Basque, Galician, etc.). These languages, however, would be excluded from the right to petition; they would constitute a tertium genus, an intermediate category between the lan guages benefiting from the language rights recognized under the Constitution and those other languages for which no status is recognized in the European institutional context. The legal functionality of this second, intermediate category will depend on the development of standards, i.e., it will depend on the entrée provided such languages in future reforms of the institutional language regime. In a later section, the article reflects on European Union language policy with regard to regional or minority languages, concluding that the Union has not acted in accordance with defined language policy guidelines when it has been confronted, in the exercise of its powers, with regional or minority languages (or domestic legislation having to do with language demands). The Court of Justice has endeavoured to resolve on a case by case basis the conflicts raised between community freedoms and the normative measures that protect languages. Thus, using case law, the Court has set certain language boundaries for community freedoms. The article concludes by reflecting on the legal scope of the recognition of European language diversity referred to in Article II-82 of the European Constitution and the possible measures to implement the precept that might constitute the definition of a true European language policy on regional or minority languages. Such a policy has yet to be defined.

Aprendiendo idiomas. Una herramienta que facilita la acogida lingüística a la inmigración

La evolución de los movimientos poblacionales en Vitoria-Gasteiz nos ha llevado a conocer la inmigración, con ella han desembarcado nuevas necesidades acordes a este nuevo fenómeno. Entre estas, nos encontramos la lingüística, fundamental para cubrir otro tipo de necesidades de la vida cotidiana. En este ámbito trabajan diferentes entidades con el objetivo de ayudar a estas personas con el aprendizaje del euskera o castellano. Este trabajo analiza la situación en la que se encuentran dichas asociaciones y facilita, mediante la creación de una página web, información sobre dónde y cómo aprender las lenguas autóctonas a las personas recién llegadas así como el contacto entre entidades.

Perfiles lingüísticos en la nueva oficina judicial: planificación lingüística en la administración de la Administración de Justicia

[ES]La adaptación de la Administración de Justicia al estatus de doble oficialidad lingüística exige la adopción de importantes medidas estructurales y organizativas que, hasta la fecha, no han resultado suficientemente efectivas. Este trabajo profundiza en los retos que en materia de lenguas se plantean a la Administración de Justicia, sobre la base del hilo conductor del sistema de planificación lingüística diseñado por la CAPV y su análisis desde la perspectiva de la jurisprudencia más reciente.