The plenary session of the Government Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Basque Country (TSJPV) has agreed to begin the second phase for the implementation of a pilot project for holding trials in Basque, which in principle would have seven judges, who have shown willingness to participate in it. A dozen members of the judiciary have shown interest in participating in this initiative but, given the recommendations made in the study carried out, there are seven that are initially counted on for this project.
As reported by the TSJPV in a statement, collected by Europa Press, the second phase begins after the plenary session of the governing body of the judges has analyzed the study and the proposals submitted by its Basque and Equality committee for the implementation of a project to hold trials entirely in Basque (without the need for an interpreter) in the territorial courts and tribunals of Euskadi. The study includes, among other issues, the actions undertaken with this objective and proposes that this pilot project not be implemented in the collegiate judicial bodies, unless in the same section all its components show the same disposition, nor in the criminal proceedings to be prosecuted. by jury court.
The number of judges who have currently shown interest in participating in this initiative has been twelve (nine regular judges, one intern in reinforcement functions and two other substitute judges), but given the recommendations made in the study there are seven members of the judiciary who are initially counted on for this pilot project. The document analyzed by the plenary also establishes limitations based on the fundamental right to the ordinary judge predetermined by the law, so in no case can the distribution rules be altered or the willingness to hold oral hearings be introduced as a criterion in this regard. in Basque.
Therefore, demands cannot be distributed to judges interested in the project simply because some of the parties to the dispute have expressed their desire for the trial to be held in this language. Likewise, it specifies that holding the trial and carrying out the process in Basque will not prevent those citizens (parties, witnesses and experts) who prefer it from choosing to testify in Spanish, providing themselves with the intervention of the interpretation service.
In the second phase of this initiative, the Euskera and Equality committee has been entrusted, with the seven judges initially available, to prepare the specific content of the pilot project in each of the judicial bodies concerned. In addition, the plenary session of the Government Chamber of the TSJPV has agreed to transfer the proposals included in the study carried out by the committee to the objective plan of this body for the year 2025.
Among these proposals is that of maintaining an updated list of judges who show a willingness to hold trials entirely in Basque. According to data from the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), currently 45 judges have accredited knowledge of Basque as a merit. In addition, it is proposed to provide sufficient publicity to the project whose implementation “must be progressive and supported by a broad consensus in order to guarantee its effectiveness and acceptance by all the agents involved and by citizens in general.”
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