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Welsh Language Act 1993

 

 
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Welsh Language Act 1993
 
 
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The Welsh Language Act 1993 is an Act
Act of Parliament

An act of Parliament is a statute wikt:enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. It is broadly equivalent to an act of Congress in the United States....
 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislature in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories....
, which put the Welsh language
Welsh language

Welsh ]], is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh Marches and in the Welsh settlement in Argentina in the Chubut Valley in Argentina Patagonia....
 on an equal footing with the English language
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 in Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
 with regard to the public sector
Public sector

The public sector is the part of economic and administrative life that deals with the delivery of goods and services by and for the government, whether national, regional or local/municipal....
.

The Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542
Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542

The Laws in Wales Acts 1535?1542 were a series of parliamentary measures by which the legal system of Wales was annexed to Kingdom of England and the norms of English administration introduced in order to create a single state and a single legal jurisdiction, which is frequently referred to as England and Wales....
 had made English the only language of the law courts and other aspects of public administration in Wales. The Welsh Courts Act 1942 had given the right to use Welsh in courts providing that the Welsh speaker was under a disadvantage in having to speak English, but this was very narrowly defined by subsequent case law.






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The Welsh Language Act 1993 is an Act
Act of Parliament

An act of Parliament is a statute wikt:enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. It is broadly equivalent to an act of Congress in the United States....
 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislature in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories....
, which put the Welsh language
Welsh language

Welsh ]], is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh Marches and in the Welsh settlement in Argentina in the Chubut Valley in Argentina Patagonia....
 on an equal footing with the English language
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 in Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
 with regard to the public sector
Public sector

The public sector is the part of economic and administrative life that deals with the delivery of goods and services by and for the government, whether national, regional or local/municipal....
.

The Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542
Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542

The Laws in Wales Acts 1535?1542 were a series of parliamentary measures by which the legal system of Wales was annexed to Kingdom of England and the norms of English administration introduced in order to create a single state and a single legal jurisdiction, which is frequently referred to as England and Wales....
 had made English the only language of the law courts and other aspects of public administration in Wales. The Welsh Courts Act 1942 had given the right to use Welsh in courts providing that the Welsh speaker was under a disadvantage in having to speak English, but this was very narrowly defined by subsequent case law. The Welsh Language Act 1967
Welsh Language Act 1967

The Welsh Language Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , which gave some rights to use the Welsh language in legal proceedings in Wales and gave the relevant Minister the right to authorise the production of a Welsh version of any documents required or allowed by the Act....
 overturned these decisions and gave rise to the concept of 'equal validity' between the Welsh and English languages. As a result, Governmental Departments began preparing documents in Welsh, and following a campaign of destroying or vandalising unilingual English road signs by members of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (The Welsh Language Society), local councils were allowed to provide many bilingual signs in Wales. It was however the Welsh Language Act 1993 which established that 'in the course of public business and the administration of justice, so far as is reasonably practicable, the Welsh and English languages are to be treated on the basis of equality.'

Basically the Act did three things:

  • set up the Welsh Language Board
    Welsh Language Board

    The Welsh Language Board is a statutory body set up by the UK Government as part of the Welsh Language Act 1993. It is now an Assembly Sponsored Public Body....
    , answerable to the Secretary of State for Wales
    Secretary of State for Wales

    The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the United Kingdom Cabinet of the United Kingdom. He is responsible for ensuring Wales interests are taken into account by the Her Majesty's Government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of United Kingdom legislation which is only for W...
    , with the duty of promoting the use of Welsh and ensuring compliance with the other provisions.
  • gave Welsh speakers the right to speak Welsh in court proceedings
  • obliged all organisations in the public sector providing services to the public in Wales to treat Welsh and English on an equal basis


The powers given to the Secretary of State for Wales
Secretary of State for Wales

The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the United Kingdom Cabinet of the United Kingdom. He is responsible for ensuring Wales interests are taken into account by the Her Majesty's Government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of United Kingdom legislation which is only for W...
 under this Act were later devolved to the National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales is a devolution National Assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Member, or AMs ....
. Delegated or Secondary Legislation has been made under this Act by the Secretary of State, and subsequently the National Assembly forcing more public bodies to prepare what are known as Welsh Language Schemes which show their commitment to the 'equality of treatment' principle.

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