Article 10 – Administrative authorities and public services

Within the administrative districts of the State in which the number of residents who are users of regional or minority languages justifies the measures specified below and according to the situation of each language, the Parties undertake, as far as this is reasonably possible:
 
to ensure that the administrative authorities use the regional or minority languages; or to ensure that such of their officers as are in contact with the public use the regional or minority languages in their relations with persons applying to them in these languages; or to ensure that users of regional or minority languages may submit oral or written applications and receive a reply in these languages; or to ensure that users of regional or minority languages may submit oral or written applications in these languages; or to ensure that users of regional or minority languages may validly submit a document in these languages;
to make available widely used administrative texts and forms for the population in the regional or minority languages or in bilingual versions; to allow the administrative authorities to draft documents in a regional or minority language.
In respect of the local and regional authorities on whose territory the number of residents who are users of regional or minority languages is such as to justify the measures specified below, the Parties undertake to allow and/or encourage:
the use of regional or minority languages within the framework of the regional or local authority; the possibility for users of regional or minority languages to submit oral or written applications in these languages; the publication by regional authorities of their official documents also in the relevant regional or minority languages; the publication by local authorities of their official documents also in the relevant regional or minority languages; the use by regional authorities of regional or minority languages in debates in their assemblies, without excluding, however, the use of the official language(s) of the State; the use by local authorities of regional or minority languages in debates in their assemblies, without excluding, however, the use of the official language(s) of the State; the use or adoption, if necessary in conjunction with the name in the official language(s), of traditional and correct forms of place-names in regional or minority languages.
With regard to public services provided by the administrative authorities or other persons acting on their behalf, the Parties undertake, within the territory in which regional or minority languages are used, in accordance with the situation of each language and as far as this is reasonably possible:
to ensure that the regional or minority languages are used in the provision of the service; or to allow users of regional or minority languages to submit a request and receive a reply in these languages; or to allow users of regional or minority languages to submit a request in these languages.
With a view to putting into effect those provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 accepted by them, the Parties undertake to take one or more of the following measures:
translation or interpretation as may be required; recruitment and, where necessary, training of the officials and other public service employees required; compliance as far as possible with requests from public service employees having a knowledge of a regional or minority language to be appointed in the territory in which that language is used.
The Parties undertake to allow the use or adoption of family names in the regional or minority languages, at the request of those concerned.