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INPRIMATU
New judicial ruling against Euskera: this time in Donostia, in the call of municipal agent
  • A court in San Sebastian considers "discriminatory" the knowledge of Euskera as a municipal agent and warns all candidates for public calls that it is not necessary to demand the linguistic profile.
Gorka Peñagarikano Goikoetxea 2024ko urtarrilaren 09a

The last sentence against the Basque Country comes from the Administrative Court No. 3 of Donostia: The Hall, presided over by José Ignacio Hierro, has considered the requirement of a certain level of Euskera as a municipal agent "discriminatory". The judge uses the Spanish Constitution, in Article 23, to argue that all citizens have the capacity to have equal access to public calls.

The City Hall of Donostia-San Sebastián held a public call for the consolidation of two Agent seats of the Municipal Police, establishing, among other requirements, the accreditation of Euskera level B2. The appeal was initiated with a candidate for the post and the lawyer Francisco Ignacio López Hera has been in charge of the defense. Just won the lawsuit, in the EiTB microphones he said: "Courts do not discriminate against Euskera, but defend citizens' rights."

According to the San Sebastian Court, the City of San Sebastian has not used forceful arguments to explain why it is essential to ask for Euskera in this call for work, but it is not essential that everyone know Euskera to serve the citizens of the official languages. In other words, it is enough for one in every two players working together to do so. In this sense, the accreditation of Basque knowledge is considered "discriminatory".

History in Irun

The last sentence expressly cites the case of the call of the Municipal Police of Irun that established the precedent of May 2021. The ruling declared "discriminatory" the need to prove the knowledge of the Basque Country in the public call of the municipal agents of Irun.