Owain Rhys James appears before the Court of Appeal through the medium of Welsh
In the Court of Appeal, on appeal from R (Driver) v Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council [2020] EWHC 2071 (Admin) (http://www2.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2020/2071.html)
Owain Rhys James represented the Welsh Language Commissioner before the Court of Appeal in R (Driver) v Rhondda Cynon Taf CBC. It is understood to be the first time that oral submissions have been made through the medium of Welsh.
Owain was instructed from the outset of the Commissioner’s involvement and his submissions before the High Court were made bilingually. Before the Court of Appeal his written submissions were bilingual whilst simultaneous translation meant that he appeared solely through the medium of Welsh at the hearing. The Welsh Government’s written submissions were also provided bilingually.
The appeal was live streamed on the Court of Appeal’s website.
The Court of Appeal (The Chancellor of the High Court, Sir Geoffrey Voss; LJJ Lewis and Nicola Davies) heard the appeal on 8 and 9 December 2020 sitting in the Cardiff Civil and Family Justice Centre.
The Claimant’s claim challenged the Local Authority’s decision to re-organise schools in the Pontypridd area with the Court quashing the decision on the basis that (1) the decision to re-organise sixth form education had not been referred to the Welsh Ministers as required by section 50 of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013 and (2) that there had been a failure to take into account a specific factor for proposals to reorganise secondary schools or remove sixth forms, namely how the proposals might affect the sustainability or enhancement of Welsh medium provision in the regional 14 – 19 network and wider area and promote access to availability of Welsh medium courses in post 16 education, in breach of the School Organisation Code 2013 published pursuant to School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013. The challenge was dismissed on two other grounds. The Commissioner took adopted a neutral stance in the proceedings.
Before the Court of Appeal, the Commissioner’s intervention dealt with the proper approach to interpreting bilingual devolution and invited the Court to provide guidance.
Further details about the case can be found here: https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/education-law/343-education-feat...