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JUDGMENTS CONCERNING THE EUSKERA
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The Constitutional Court shall rule on the linguistic profiles of public employment in the Basque Country

The High Court of Justice of the Basque Country has asked the Constitutional Court whether or not it is constitutional for all Basque public posts to have a linguistic profile in place. One of the three judges who were to decide has issued an individual opinion because, in his view, the law in question "does not cause any imbalance". The Basque Government sees no "legal reason" for asking the question.

BILBAO, 24/07/2025.- Alcaldes y alcaldesas, representantes municipales y personalidades del ámbito del euskera de Álava, Bizkaia y Gipuzkoa, ante el TSJPV en la capital vizcaína, donde denuncian la sentencia del Tribunal Supremo sobre el uso del euskera en las instituciones locales.EFE/Luis Tejido
Protest by mayors and councillors of the Basque Country over the sentences against the Euskera.

The Third Section of the Administrative Chamber of the High Court of the Basque Country has finally decided to ask the Constitutional Court whether or notArticle 187.5 of the Basque Public Employment Act, concerning administrative language profiles, violates the Spanish Constitution. This decision is not subject to appeal.

The High Court of Justice of the Basque Country considered in early December referring the question to the Constitution before resolving the appeals of the People's Party and Vox to the Public Employment Act , and therefore urged the parties to the proceedings (Basque Government, PP and Vox) and the Public Prosecutor's Office to make allegations, forwhich the Basque Government sees no reason, but the Public Prosecutor's Office was in favour.

The article to be examined by the Constitutional Court states that "all jobsin the Basque Public Administrations, their institutions and agencies, including those of a temporary or short-term nature, shall have the corresponding linguistic profile, determined in accordance with the characteristics and communication needs assigned to them and to the language skills required for this purpose ".

The High Court of Justice of the Basque Country considers that this article determines the final judgement on appeals filed by Vox and the PP and considers it necessary for the Constitutional Court to decide whether or not this section of the law is in accordance with the Constitution before issuing a decision. 

In its recent order, it specifies that the requirement that all jobs must have a linguistic profile has not so far been "explicitly" analysed by the Constitutional Court, and considers that there are "numerous reasons justifying" the constitutional doubt. "The fact that all jobs have a linguistic profile, and not only those that can be established in accordance with the principle of proportionality, is objectively a deterrent to those who aspire to public employment and to non-Euskaldunes," the court says.

Individual opinion

Notall the judges   who were to take this decision agree with this consultation decision. One of the three judges has issued an individual opinion, considering that this article of the Basque Public Employment Act "does not imply any imbalance with respect to Spanish ". According to this particular opinion, this rule" has been established in the Basque Autonomous Community for many years and hasbeen validated by the Constitutional Court in its ruling on Catalan regulations, the latter being stricter with regard to the knowledge of the official language in the public service ".

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