All posts tagged Wales

Public Request for Changing the Draft Welsh Language Law

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A group consisting of 14 different organisations has come together to publish an open letter to have changes made to the draft Welsh language law.

The group wishing to make changes to the Welsh language law include Wales’ own teachers’ union (Undeb Cenedlaethol Athrawon Cymru), language expert professor Colin Williams, the womens voluntary group Merched y Wawr, as well as the Friends of the Earth Cymru. The open letter was addressed to the current Heritage Minister Alum Ffred Jones.

In the letter, the group complained that the Welsh national language is facing threats from many directions. They are asking the Welsh government to make changes to the draft Welsh language law so that it delivers an unambiguous statement that the Welsh language is the official language in Wales.

The proposed new language law was published by the assembly government back in March 2010. The Welsh language law is drafted in such a way that it places certain duties on some businesses to provide their services in the Welsh language if the service is provided in Wales. Businesses most likely to be affected are telecommunication providers, gas suppliers and electricity providers. Under the new language law, these companies will face sanctions such as fines if they fail to meet the required standard of language service delivery.

The proposed law will also scrap the existing Welsh Language Board and replace it with the post of a Welsh Language Commissioner. Although the Assembly government has made clear that the law is still in its drafting stage, it has attracted a lot of criticism from local academics arguing that the Welsh language is going to be marginalised under the new rules. Their main argument stems from the fact that the proposed law does not create a clear linguistic rights or any statement that pronounces the Welsh language as the official language of Wales. Furthermore, the new post of Welsh Language Commissioner is not independent because the commissioner is accountable to the government.

The 14 organisations open letter is also hugely influenced by a series of events that have taken place over the past few years. First, the cutting of budget on S4C, the Welsh television channel that broadcasts from the capital Cardiff. Secondly, the Assembly government stopping its translation service from English to Welsh for all its record of proceedings. Thirdly, Welsh medium education in the capital city Cardiff is limited. Fourthly, Bethan Wyn Jones, a patient who was told that her consent for endoscopy was not valid because it was signed in Welsh language form. The doctor told her that she must sign the English form in order to be valid and legal. Therefore, Welsh language lobbyists are outraged by the fact that the Welsh language is perceived by doctors to be unofficial. In fact, the Welsh form is as legal as any English form would be.

The group perceives these events as a series of threats to the very survival of Welsh language. So, the Welsh Assembly now has their work cut out before them to ensure that their constituents are going to be happy on the next revision of the language law draft.

What is the Role of Barristers in Legal System

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In England and Wales the legal system constitutes of barristers and solicitors. There is a fine line between the two legal professions. The solicitor directly and exclusively has access to the lay client, and also selects and instructs the barrister who is prohibited from dealing directly with the client. The barrister is an officer of the court who acts on behalf of a client, he or she is a lawyer who has been admitted to plead at the bar, which means that he or she has been called to the bar by the benchers of one of the four Inns of Court (Middle Temple, Inner Temple, Gray’s Inn and Lincoln’s Inn).

They are required to attain a second-class honours degree, and attend the Inns of Court School of Law, or other validated Bar Vocational Course provider, for a one year term and pass the bar final exams. Once they pass the bar exams the call is followed by a one-year pupilage in chambers. This process allows the novice lawyer to benefit from associating and attending court with an experienced barrister. The role of barristers in the legal system is to ensure that justice is provided to their clients with the best representation, in the forum of the court before the judge. The primary duty of the barrister is to the court and therefore to justice. Basically, the barrister is allowed to appear in court to argue a client’s case. Barristers are prohibited from incorporating or joining together as partners.

They are not allowed to form partnerships but a number of barristers may make up a set of chambers as sole practitioners, and perhaps share a clerk who serves other barristers. Technically, a barrister is given an honorarium not a fee, or a salary in return for the advocacy services provided to the client. Clients cannot approach the barrister directly they contact solicitors who basically brief the barrister. The honorarium is paid to the solicitor who in turn pays it to the barrister. The client cannot be sued by the barrister for the honorarium. There are many barristers in the UK that are listed on SearchMe4, the UK’s leading online business directory.

For more information on Barristers, visit our business directory.