Legislation

In issue no. 129 of the BOIB¹ of September 13, Decree 162/2003, of September 5, of approval of the rules which regulate the requirement of Catalan language command in the selection process for civil service positions and for the assignment of positions which have been offered in the area of Administration of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands, was published.

In the first draft of this Decree a first additional provision was included according to which the certifying of the level of Catalan language command did not apply to all lifelong civil servants or permanent staff members being of 50 years of age on the deadline date for submission of applications in connection with the respective calls for participation in the position assignment process.

In the framework of the preparation process of such Decree, the report by the Economic and Social Council (Consell Econòmic i Social) suggested the convenience of including the initial text of the first additional provision before-mentioned in terms of temporariness, as a transitory measure.

This fact made it advisable, for good legislative technique and legal security reasons, to postpone the inclusion of the transitory regime now foreseen, in order to accelerate the validity of the new levels of Catalan language command for the assignment of positions.

Once the Decree was approved, a new procedure was started, which makes use of the proceedings already conducted in the enactment of the Decree now being modified, which according to the procedural economy principle includes the Economic and Social Council's report.

This rule arises from the need to deal with a well-defined issue requiring a differentiated treatment, as is the situation of a civil servant collective, including those who have been transferred to other administrations, by establishing a transitory period which facilitates their adaptation to the current requirement levels of language command.

The rule's transitoriness modulates the language command requirements in order to regulate these workers' situation, on a temporary basis. Moreover, the fact that the certifying of a higher level of Catalan command than the one required is also considered as a merit in these workers gives preference for the assignment of positions in competition with other civil servants, while it also acts as an incentive in the language normalization process.

According to what has been exposed, based on the favorable reports made by the Personnel Commission (Comissió de Personal) of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands, having carried out and concluded the mandatory negotiation with the trade unions, in agreement with the Economic and Social Council's decision, having heard the Advisory Council (Consell Consultiu) of the Balearic Islands, on a proposal from the Autonomous Community Minister of the Interior (Conseller d'Interior), and once the Council of Government (Consell de Govern) has considered it in the sitting of October 31, 2003.

DECREE

Single Section

A transitory provision shall be added to Decree 162/2003, of September 5, of approval of the Rules which regulate the requirement of Catalan language command in the selection process for civil service positions and for the assignment of positions offered in the area of Administration of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands, with the following wording:

Transitory Provision

1. Within the period of five years since entry into force of the present Decree, the command of Catalan regulated in Chapters IV and V shall not be applied to lifelong civil servants or permanent staff members being of 50 years of age before the deadline date for submission of applications in connection with the respective calls for participation in the position assignment process.

2. The certifying of levels of higher Catalan language command than the one required in Chapters IV and V to the personnel to which this transitory provision refers shall be considered at all events as a merit in any position assignment procedure through the call systems of merit tender, free assignment or service assignment.

Final Provision

The present Decree shall enter into force the day after its publication in the Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands (Butlletí Oficial de les Illes Balears).

Palma, October 31, 2003

THE PRESIDENT

Jaume Matas Palou

The Autonomous Community Minister of the Interior

José Maria Rodríguez Barberá

Unofficial translation

Source: MIRIS Newsletter No. 6, Minority Rights Information System, http://dev.eurac.edu:8085/mugs2/do/blob.html?type=html&serial=1095257197859

¹ Butlletí Oficial de les Illes Balears (Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands)

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