Royal Decree 1690/1986 dated July 11th approving the regulation on the population and the territorial limits of local entities
(Translated from an unofficial French version)
Section 30
- The naming of municipalities may be done in all cases in Castilian plus in one of the other official Spanish languages in the respective Autonomous Community, or in both languages.
- The municipalities may not use names which have not been authorized by following the regulatory steps.
Royal Decree 2003/1986 dated September 19th approving the organic regulation respecting entities of officers, assistants and law clerks
(Translated from an unofficial French version)
Section 51
Allocation of available positions
- Work assignments and positions shall be given to applicants with the most seniority in the entity in question. If no specific position is applied for, the position not requested by other applicants with greater seniority shall be given. Positions not applied for shall be filled with those in the entity according to the order established during selection examinations or readmission into active service in the manner set out in this regulation.
- Notwithstanding the foregoing, when allocating positions on the territory of the Autonomous Communities with their own official language, verbal and written knowledge of such language, duly certified by an official attestation, shall include the recognition, for such purposes only, of six years of additional seniority to be added to those which the public employee has.
Royal Decree 2568/1986 dated November 28 respecting approval of the Regulation respecting the organization, operation and legal system of local bodies
(Translated from an unofficial French version)
Section 86
- Notices of meetings, agendas, motions, special votes, proposed agreements and commissions shall be drafted in Castilian or in the official language of the Autonomous Community to which the entity belongs, in accordance with applicable legislation and the consents adopted with respect thereto by the corresponding Corporation.
- In debates, the Castilian language or the co-official language of the respective Autonomous Community may be used indiscriminately.
Section 110
- The provisions of section 86.1 shall be applied to the drafting of minutes concerning language use.
Section 201
Bilingual minutes and resolutions shall be transcribed in the corresponding books throughout the system in double columns, one for each language, in order to facilitate their comparison and use.
Royal Decree 628/1987 dated May 8th amending sections 86 and 225 of the Regulation respecting the register of civil status
(Translated from an unofficial French version)
Single section
Sections 86 and 225 of the Regulation respecting the register of civil status shall henceforth read as follows:
S. 86: In the case of documents not drafted in Castilian or in any of the other official languages of the respective Autonomous Communities, or written in ancient or barely intelligible writing, the translation or a copy sufficiently established before a Notary, Consul, Translator or other competent agency or public employee shall be attached.
The translation shall not be necessary if the clerk receives proof of its content.
S. 225
In Spanish territories with their own official language in addition to Castilian, bilingual models shall be used, in accordance with the translations appearing as a schedule to this order.
Law 1/2000 dated January 7 respecting criminal proceedings
(Translated from an unofficial French version)
Section 142
- In all legal proceedings, judges, magistrates, public ministers, secretaries and other court employees shall use Castilian, the State official language.
- Judges, magistrates, public ministers, secretaries and other court employees may also use the official language of the Autonomous Community, if none of the parties objects on the grounds of a lack of knowledge of the said language, which could leave him or her without a defence.
- The parties, their solicitors and their barristers, as well as the witnesses and experts, may use the language which is also official in the Autonomous Community in the territory in which the proceedings take place, both through verbal and oral statements.
- Legal proceedings conducted and documents presented in the official language of an Autonomous Community shall, without the need to be translated into Castilian, be fully valid and enforceable, but they shall be translated ex officio when they must have effect outside the jurisdiction of the legal agencies situated in the Autonomous Community, except in the case of Autonomous Communities where the official language is coincidental. They shall also be translated if the laws so require or at the request of a party claiming not to have a defence.
- During verbal proceedings, the Court may, by order, allow as an interpreter any person knowing the language used, after swearing or promising to provide a true translation.
Act 2/1992 dated April 30 respecting criminal proceedings
(Translated from an unofficial French version)
Section 440
If a witness does not understand or speak Spanish, an interpreter shall be appointed who shall take an oath to act properly and faithfully in performing his or her duties. This will allow questions to be asked of the witness and answers, which may be dictated through such interpreter, to be received. In the case of a statement, the provisions shall be set out in the language used by the witness and translated into Spanish.
Act 30/1984 dated August 2 respecting the reform of the public service
BOE, No. 185 dated August 3, 1984
(Translated from an unofficial French version)
Section 19
Selection of personnel
The public administrations shall select their personnel, namely the public employees and the technical and support personnel, in accordance with their offer of public employment, through public advertisement and free competition in which the constitutional principles of equality, merit and ability, as well as that of publicity, shall be guaranteed.
In the methods of selection, special attention shall be given to the relationship between the types of test to be taken, including practical tests, and their suitability for the positions to be filled.
In competitions for access to public service, the public administrations shall, in connection with their respective jurisdictions, provide for the selection of public employees with the necessary skills to fill the jobs in the Autonomous Communities which have two official languages.
- The government shall regulate the composition and operation of the selection agencies and shall guarantee the specialization of members of the selection agencies as well as the flexibility of the selection process, without prejudice to its objectivity. Except with respect to the characteristics of teaching or research personnel, the selection agencies may in no case include a majority of public employees belonging to the same body as that of the applicants being selected.
- The National Institute of Public Administration shall be responsible for coordinating, monitoring and, as needed, setting up selection, training and continuing education courses for State public employees. The Institute shall also cooperate with the centres given the same duties in other public departments.
Act 38/1988 dated December 28 respecting the judicial system
(Translated from an unofficial French version)
Section 32
To fill the position of president of the Superior Court of Justice in Autonomous Communities with special civil law or foral law, as well as an official language, the Conseil général du pouvoir judiciaire shall consider as an asset specialization in such special civil or foral law, as well as knowledge of the specific language of the Community.
Act 4/1980 dated January 10 respecting the status of radio and television, amended by the General Telecommunications Act 11/1998 dated April 24
(Translated from an unofficial French version)
Section 4
Communications by the State shall be based on the following principles [...]:
c) Respect of political, religious, social, cultural and linguistic pluralism.
Act 4/1999 dated January 13 respecting the amendment of Act 30/1992 dated November 26 respecting the legal system of public administrations and the common administrative procedure
(Translated from an unofficial French version)
Section 36
- The language of proceedings dealt with by the General Administration of the State shall be Castilian. Without prejudice to the foregoing, interested parties who address the agencies of the General Administration of the State in which the head office is situated on the territory of an autonomous community may also use the co-official language thereof, in which case proceedings shall be conducted in the language chosen by the interested party. In the case of more than one party interested in the proceedings, and if there is disagreement on the language, the proceedings shall be conducted in Castilian, although the documents or attestation required by the interested parties shall be drawn up in the language chosen by them.
- In proceedings conducted by the administrations of the Autonomous Communities and the local entities, the language used shall be adjusted as prescribed by the corresponding autonomous legislation.
- The Public Administration conducting the proceedings shall translate into Castilian the documents, files or parts thereof when they must have effect outside the territory of the Autonomous Community and the documents intended for interested parties who so expressly request. If they must have effect in the territory of an Autonomous Community where the co-official language is that same language other than Castilian, their translation shall not be necessary.
Bill 7/1985 dated April 2 respecting the basic regulation of the local system
(Translated from an unofficial French version)
Section 14
- The change of denomination of the municipalities shall only be official when, after being noted in a register created by the State Administration to register all agencies to which this Act refers, they shall be published in the Bulletin officiel de l'État (official state bulletin).
- The naming of the municipalities may be done in all cases in Castilian plus in one of the other official Spanish languages in the respective Autonomous Community, or in both languages.
Organic Law 4/2001 dated November 12 respecting the right to petition
(Translated from an unofficial French version)
Section 5
- In the territorial framework of the Autonomous Communities for which the Statutes establish dual linguistic status, applicants shall be entitled to make their petitions to the General Administration of the State or to public bodies related to or dependent on it in one of the official languages and to obtain an answer in the language of their choice.
- In petitions directed at autonomous institutions and local agencies, use of the language shall be adjusted according to the corresponding autonomous legislation.
- The institution, administration or agency in question shall translate into Castilian the documents, files or parts thereof when they must have an effect outside the territory of the Autonomous Community and documents intended for interested parties who so expressly request. If they must have effect in the territory of an Autonomous Community in which the co-official language is such same language other than Castilian, their translation shall not be necessary.
Organic Law 6/1985 dated July 1st respecting judicial authority
(Translated from an unofficial French version)
Section 231
- In all legal proceedings, judges, magistrates, public ministers, secretaries and other court employees shall use Castilian, the State official language.
- Judges, magistrates, public ministers, secretaries and other court employees may also use the official language of the Autonomous Community, if none of the parties objects on the grounds of a lack of knowledge of the said language which could leave him or her without a defence.
- The parties, their solicitors and those who direct them, as well as the witnesses and experts, may use the language which is also official in the Autonomous Community in the territory in which the legal proceedings take place, through both verbal and oral statements.
- Legal proceedings conducted and documents presented in the official language of an Autonomous Community shall be fully valid and enforceable, without the need to be translated into Castilian. They shall be translated ex officio when they must have effect outside the jurisdiction of the legal agencies situated in the Autonomous Community, except in the case of Autonomous Communities where the official language is coincidental. They shall also be translated if the laws so require or at the request of a party claiming not to have a defence.
- During verbal proceedings, the Court may, by order, allow as an interpreter any person knowing the language used, after swearing or promising to provide a true translation.
Order dated July 20, 1989 respecting certain models of life and status certificates, and attestations of extracts and full copies of acts in the Register
(Translated from an unofficial French version)
Section 4
In Spanish territories with their own official language, in addition to Castilian, bilingual models shall be used, in accordance with the translations appearing as a schedule to such order. Bilingual models of the Book on Family Law shall have 32 pages for Galician, 32 pages for Catalan and 32 pages for Basque.