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 ​
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