In his letter to the Speaker of the Sejm, Andrzej Duda explained in detail his decision in this matter
President Andrzej Duda (Przemysław Keler / x.com/ppresidentpl)
The President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, refused to sign the act amending the act on national and ethnic minorities and the regional language and certain other acts and referred the act to the Sejm for reconsideration. The president made his decision on the basis of Art. 122 section 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.
If the President of the Republic of Poland has not submitted an application to the Constitutional Tribunal pursuant to section 3, may, with a reasoned request, refer the bill to the Sejm for reconsideration. After the Sejm has passed the act again by a 3/5 majority of votes in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of Deputies, the President of the Republic of Poland signs the act within 7 days and orders its publication in the Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland. If the Sejm passes the act again, the President of the Republic of Poland shall not have the right to appeal to the Constitutional Tribunal in accordance with section 3.
content of Article 122(1) 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.
Language protection
In his application, the President pointed out that the attempt to give the Silesian ethnolect the status of a regional language is not a new phenomenon. Over recent years, there has been an increase in activities aimed at changing the status of the speech of the inhabitants of Upper Silesia and recognizing it as a regional language separate from Polish, as well as emphasizing the autonomy of this region. This was achieved through numerous, alternating legislative initiatives aimed at obtaining the status of an ethnic minority by the Silesian community or granting the Silesian ethnolect the status of a regional language. These initiatives were considered by various political options that had a majority in the Sejm at that time, which, taking into account historical, political, cultural, linguistic and social conditions and using numerous expert opinions, has so far consistently refused to finalize the initiated aspirations.
Criteria for assessing the regional language
The President emphasized that the assessment of whether a specific regional language has been created or a specific ethnic minority has been identified must primarily be based on an examination of whether the criteria set out in the Act of January 6, 2005 on national and ethnic minorities and on regional language. Such an assessment should be made by specialists involved in the study of language, culture and tradition, and in particular linguists.
Objectivity of assessment and expert opinions
In the President's opinion, whether the statutory criteria are met should be the subject of an objective assessment. The mere belief of the social group concerned that it differs significantly from other citizens in terms of language, culture or tradition is insufficient here. The President, using the opinions of experts available in the public sphere, especially linguists, among whom the prevailing opinion is that Silesian dialects are dialects of the Polish language, and the Silesian dialect, which they consist of, is the same dialect of the Polish language as, for example, the dialect of Lesser Poland, Greater Poland and Masovian Voivodeship, found that the legal condition under Art. 19 section 1 point 2 of the Act of January 6, 2005 on national and ethnic minorities and on the regional language, enabling the Silesian ethnolect to obtain the status of a regional language.
Preserving national identity
It should be emphasized that the fact that a specific ethnolect does not have the status of a regional language does not mean that it is not subject to protection. Both the Silesian dialect, like other Polish dialects and dialects, are subject to protection, the legal framework of which is determined by the Act of October 7, 1999 on the Polish language. Pursuant to Art. 3 section 1 point 4 of this Act, the protection of the Polish language consists in particular in promoting respect for regionalisms and dialects, as well as preventing their disappearance. The President, sharing concerns that recognizing the Silesian ethnolect as a regional language, and thus providing it with the protection resulting from this title, may result in similar expectations among representatives of other regional groups who want to cultivate their local languages, guided by responsibility for the state, believes that it cannot be approve requests to cover specific language dialects with the provisions of the Act of January 6, 2005 on national and ethnic minorities and on the regional language, in the absence of clear substantive and legal grounds for this, especially in the current social and geopolitical situation. Hybrid actions that cannot be ruled out, which may be taken in relation to the Republic of Poland, related to the war being waged on the eastern border, require special care to preserve national identity. In particular, cultivating the native language serves to protect the preservation of national identity.
Source: dziennik.pl
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