Welsh Language Act 1967
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The Welsh Language Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (citation 1967 c. 66), 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. The Act was based on the Hughes Parry report into the status of Welsh, published in 1965, which advocated equal validity for Welsh in speech and in written documents, both in the courts and in public administration in Wales. However the Act did not include all the Hughes Parry report's recommendations.
The Welsh Language Act 1967 is a short Act, consisting of a Preamble and five sections. The Preamble states that "it is proper that the Welsh language should be freely used by those who so desire in the hearing of legal proceedings in Wales". The first section gives the right to use Welsh orally in court proceedings in Wales provided that the person who wishes to do so has notified the court in advance. The second and third sections give Ministers the right to provide Welsh versions of forms or wordings, but did not impose any obligation on them to do so. The fourth section of the Act repealed the provision in Part 3 of the Wales and Berwick Act 1746 that the term "England" should include Wales.
The Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 had made English the only language of the law courts and other aspects of public administration in Wales. The 1967 Act was the first alteration to this, however the Welsh Language Act 1993 was the first to put Welsh on an equal basis with English in public life.
