Tag: Wales

England and Wales utilise a common-law system, which differs from the civil systems used in most of the rest of Europe. Common law is not based on Acts of Parliament, but on previous decisions by the courts. One principle of common law requires that the courts apply a previous decision made by a court on the same level or higher. Other characteristics of a common-law system include a trial by jury in the criminal courts and for defamation and a system of supremacy of law, by which every citizen is bound.

The development of common law has occurred because of custom and usage, and many principles have developed over time in accordance with what was thought at the time; as opinions and practices change, so does the law. While we now have Acts of Parliament which must be followed by the judiciary, there are still principles made by common law which are enacted by Parliament. This has meant that statutory law has now become more important than case law, although it is case law that provided and developed many points of law enacted by Parliament. When the judiciary is deciding a case in which statute is relevant, they will also need to decide the case in light of common law. Much common law has not been enacted into statute and many of the principles of contract law, for example, are still entrenched in previously decided cases.

Common law develops when a court makes a decision on a case. If a case has been previously decided by a higher court, the lower court has no option but to decide in accordance with it and allow an appeal if necessary. The Court of Appeal and the House of Lords (rather, the new Supreme Court) are the courts which have made most of the decisions that bind lower courts and in order to change the law a new decision must be made by a higher court, or in case of the Supreme Court, itself. Development of common law has taken place over hundreds of years and has occurred differently in different common-law jurisdictions, meaning that although common-law jurisdictions have the same basis for law, the law has developed so as to result in us now having different laws.

A group consisting of 14 different organisations has come together to publish an open letter to have changes made to the draft Welsh language law.

The group wishing to make changes to the Welsh language law include Wales’ own teachers’ union (Undeb Cenedlaethol Athrawon Cymru), language expert professor Colin Williams, the womens voluntary group Merched y Wawr, as well as the Friends of the Earth Cymru. The open letter was addressed to the current Heritage Minister Alum Ffred Jones.

In the letter, the group complained that the Welsh national language is facing threats from many directions. They are asking the Welsh government to make changes to the draft Welsh language law so that it delivers an unambiguous statement that the Welsh language is the official language in Wales.

The proposed new language law was published by the assembly government back in March 2010. The Welsh language law is drafted in such a way that it places certain duties on some businesses to provide their services in the Welsh language if the service is provided in Wales. Businesses most likely to be affected are telecommunication providers, gas suppliers and electricity providers. Under the new language law, these companies will face sanctions such as fines if they fail to meet the required standard of language service delivery.

The proposed law will also scrap the existing Welsh Language Board and replace it with the post of a Welsh Language Commissioner. Although the Assembly government has made clear that the law is still in its drafting stage, it has attracted a lot of criticism from local academics arguing that the Welsh language is going to be marginalised under the new rules. Their main argument stems from the fact that the proposed law does not create a clear linguistic rights or any statement that pronounces the Welsh language as the official language of Wales. Furthermore, the new post of Welsh Language Commissioner is not independent because the commissioner is accountable to the government.

The 14 organisations open letter is also hugely influenced by a series of events that have taken place over the past few years. First, the cutting of budget on S4C, the Welsh television channel that broadcasts from the capital Cardiff. Secondly, the Assembly government stopping its translation service from English to Welsh for all its record of proceedings. Thirdly, Welsh medium education in the capital city Cardiff is limited. Fourthly, Bethan Wyn Jones, a patient who was told that her consent for endoscopy was not valid because it was signed in Welsh language form. The doctor told her that she must sign the English form in order to be valid and legal. Therefore, Welsh language lobbyists are outraged by the fact that the Welsh language is perceived by doctors to be unofficial. In fact, the Welsh form is as legal as any English form would be.

The group perceives these events as a series of threats to the very survival of Welsh language. So, the Welsh Assembly now has their work cut out before them to ensure that their constituents are going to be happy on the next revision of the language law draft.