La Competència en matèria de llengua pròpia en el nou Estatut
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After some preliminary considerations
regarding the meaning of the new
Statute as regards the division of jurisdiction,
this article focuses on an analysis
of jurisdiction in matters concerning
the autochthonous language granted in
article 143.1 of the Statute of Autonomy
of Catalonia. In this regard, after analyzing
the autochthonous language - official
language relationship, the article
examines how this relationship has
been reflected in constitutional case law
and what constitutional case law has
found with respect to communities
with an autochthonous language and
the jurisdiction that is left in the hands
of the central government with regard
to Spanish. At the same time, other factors
that, as can be deduced from the
case law itself, affect and condition the
exercise of regional jurisdiction, are
analyzed. In this regard, special attention
is paid to the material substantive
section in which regional jurisdiction
should apply (education, consumers,
etc.), which has its its own set of jurisdictional
rules, and the influence of the
fact that regional language jurisdiction
should also be exercised vis-à-vis branches
of government that are not part of
the autonomous government of Catalonia
(Generalitat). As this paper shows,
the construction of case law around
these issues has not been uniform or
free from contradictions. The article number 143 of the Statute of Autonomy
of Catalonia (while at the same
time underscoring the cuts that were introduced
in the text as it moved
through Congress and the consequences
that these cuts may entail), as well as
what space is left to the central government,
especially in the area of teaching,
given the recent proposals from some
of the parties to reform the National
Education Act in order to include the
right to receive classes in the vehicular
language the student body chooses, in
such a way that in autonomous communities
with two official languages the
students would be separated according
to their choice. Finally, the article initiates
a discussion about the implementation
of article 143 of the Statute of
Autonomy of Catalonia, and makes reference
to the impact that the recent
decision, docket number 247/2007,
handed down by the Constitutional
Court may have on language rights, given
the existence of jurisdiction over
the autochthonous language