Former alderman Jan Benedictus of the municipality of Skarsterlân refused to speak Dutch in the court in Zwolle on Thursday. The judge did not accept his Frisian promise, so the politician was allowed to leave again. Should everyone in Dutch courts speak Dutch?
Yes, say 89 percent of the participants in the statement of the day. “This must of course be in Dutch, so that everyone can understand what is being said,” says one proponent of the statement.
“It shows enormous stubbornness if you do not want to adapt even in a court of law. Frisian may be considered an official language, but you have to adapt in public places. You are still a Dutchman,” adds another proponent.
Opponents are in the minority with 11 percent of the vote. “You have to be able to express yourself in the language in which you do it best. Not just about Frisian, but about all languages. The court must then arrange an interpreter to translate it into Dutch,” writes one participant.
“Frisian is an official language and the law says that it is also allowed in Frisian. Nice, isn’t it!”, another opponent writes.
2023-08-19 13:20:00
#court #cases #held #Dutch #result #statement #day
