Generalitat de Catalunya

ARTICLE 15. THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIVIDUAL

1. The citizens of Catalonia have the rights and obligations recognised in the rules referred to in Article 4.1.
2. Each individual has the right to live in dignity, safety and autonomy, free from exploitation, from ill-treatment and from all types of discrimination, and has the right to freely develop his or her personality and personal abilities.
3. The rights of the citizens of Catalonia, as established in this Estatut, may be extended to other individuals, under the terms established by law.

ARTICLE 16. RIGHTS IN THE FIELD OF THE FAMILY

Each individual has the right, in accordance with the requirements established by law, to receive social benefits and public assistance in fulfilling family responsibilities.


ARTICLE 17. THE RIGHTS OF MINORS

All minors have the right to receive all the attention necessary for the development of their personality and for their welfare in both family and social contexts.


ARTICLE 18. THE RIGHTS OF THE ELDERLY

Elderly people have the right to live with dignity, free from exploitation and ill-treatment, and may not be discriminated against for reasons of age.


ARTICLE 19. THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN

1. All women have the right to freely develop their personality and personal abilities, and to live with dignity, confidence and autonomy, free from exploitation, ill-treatment and all types of discrimination.
2. Women have the right to participate equally with men in all private and public spheres.

ARTICLE 20. THE RIGHT TO UNDERGO THE PROCESS OF DEATH WITH DIGNITY

1. Each individual has the right to receive appropriate treatment of pain and complete palliative attention and to undergo the process of death with dignity.
2. Each individual has the right to express his or her will in advance in order to record instructions regarding any medical treatment or intervention that he or she may undergo. These instructions must be respected especially by medical staff, in accordance with the terms established by the law, if the individual is not able to express his or her wishes personally.

ARTICLE 21. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION

1. Each individual has the right to a high-quality education and to equality of access. The Generalitat shall establish a model of education in the public interest that guarantees these rights.
2. In accordance with the principles established in Article 37.4, parents are guaranteed the right of their children to receive moral and religious education in accord with their convictions in State schools, in which the education is non-religious.
3. Private schools may be supported with public funds in accordance with the provisions of the law, in order to guarantee the rights to equal access and to a high-quality education.
4. Education is free at all compulsory stages and at other levels as may be established by law.
5. Each individual has the right to occupational and continuous training, under the terms established by law.
6. Each individual has the right to receive, under the terms and conditions which may be established by law, public assistance to meet his or her educational needs, and equal access to higher levels of education, in accordance with his or her economic resources, aptitudes and preferences.
7. Individuals with special educational needs have the right to receive the necessary support to gain access to the educational system, in accordance with the provisions of the law.
8. The members of the educational community have the right to participate in school and university affairs under the terms established by law.

ARTICLE 22. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS IN THE CULTURAL FIELD

1. Each individual has the right of equal access to culture and to the development of their individual and collective creative abilities.
2. Each individual has the duty to respect and preserve cultural heritage.

ARTICLE 23. RIGHTS IN THE FIELD OF HEALTH

1. Each individual has the right of equal access, free of charge, to healthcare services provided under public responsibility, under the terms established by law.
2. Public healthcare users have the right to have their preferences respected in terms of choice of doctor and healthcare centre, under the terms and conditions established by law.
3. Each individual, with respect to public and private healthcare services, has the right to be informed of the services which he or she can have access to and of the requirements for using them; to be informed of medical therapies and their risks, prior to treatment; to give his or her consent for all medical interventions; to have access to his or her own medical records; and to confidentiality regarding information relating to his or her health, under the terms established by law.

ARTICLE 24. RIGHTS IN THE FIELD OF WELFARE SERVICES

1. Each individual has the right to equal access to the welfare service network provided under public responsibility, to be informed about those services, and to give his or her consent to any action that affects him or her personally, under the terms established by law.
2. Those individuals with special needs regarding personal autonomy in the activities of daily life have the right to receive attention which is appropriate to their condition, in accordance with legally established conditions.
3. Those individuals or families who are in a situation of poverty have the right to a minimum guaranteed income that ensures them the minimum necessary to live in dignity, in accordance with legally established conditions.
4. Third social sector organisations have the right to fulfil their functions in the spheres of social participation and collaboration.

ARTICLE 25. RIGHTS IN THE FIELD OF LABOUR

1. All workers have the right to professional training and promotion and the right of free access to public employment services.
2. Those individuals excluded from the job market because they have not been able to enter or re-enter it and without a means of subsistence have the right to receive non-contributory provisions and resources to alleviate their situation, under the terms established by law.
3. All workers have the right to perform their work and professional tasks in conditions that guarantee their health, safety and dignity.
4. Workers, or their representatives, have a right to information, consultation and participation in their companies.
5. Trade union and employer union organisations have the right to fulfil their functions in the spheres of social agreement, participation and social collaboration.

ARTICLE 26. RIGHTS IN THE FIELD OF HOUSING

Those individuals who lack sufficient resources have the right to a decent home, and public authorities shall, therefore, establish by law a system of measures to guarantee this right, within the terms determined by law.

ARTICLE 27. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS CONCERNING THE ENVIRONMENT

1. Each individual has the right to live in an environment that is balanced, sustainable and respectful of health, in accordance with the standards and levels of protection established by law. Each individual also has equal rights to enjoy the landscape and natural resources, and has the obligation to use these responsibly and to avoid squander and damage of natural resources.
2. Each individual has the right to protection from different forms of pollution, in accordance with the standards and levels determined by law. He or she also has the obligation to collaborate in the conservation of the natural heritage and in actions designed to eliminate any form of pollution, with the objective of maintaining and preserving the natural environment for future generations.
3. Each individual has the right of access to environmental information held by the public authorities. The right to information may only be limited for justifiable reasons of public order, within the terms established by law.

ARTICLE 28. THE RIGHTS OF CONSUMER AND USERS

1. Each individual, as a consumer and user of goods and services, has the right to the protection of their health and safety. He or she also has the right to accurate and comprehensible information on the characteristics and prices of goods and services, to a system of guarantees for purchased products and contracted supplies, and to the protection of their economic interests against abusive, negligent or fraudulent conduct.
2. Consumers and users have the right to information and to participation, either directly or through their representatives, regarding the Public Administration bodies of Catalonia, under the terms established by law

ARTICLE 29. RIGHT OF PARTICIPATION

1. The citizens of Catalonia have an equal right to participate in the public affairs of Catalonia, whether directly or through their representatives, on the assumptions and under the terms established by this Estatut and by law.
2. The citizens of Catalonia have the right to elect their representatives to the representative political bodies and to stand for election as candidates, in accordance with the conditions and the requirements established by law.
3. The citizens of Catalonia have the right to promote and present legislative initiatives to Parliament, under the terms established by this Estatut and the law.
4. The citizens of Catalonia have the right to participate, directly or through associative bodies, in the parliamentary process of drafting laws, by means of the procedures established by Parliament's Rules of Procedure.
5. Each individual has the right to present petitions and complaints, in the form and with the effects established by law, to the institutions and the Administration of the Generalitat and also to the local government entities of Catalonia in matters coming under the respective powers. The conditions for exercise of this right and its effects, and the obligations of the receiving institutions shall be established by law.
6. The citizens of Catalonia have the right to promote the calling of public consultations by the Generalitat and the city councils in matters coming under the respective powers, in the form and under the terms established by law.

ARTICLE 30. RIGHTS OF ACCESS TO PUBLIC SERVICES AND TO A GOOD ADMINISTRATION

1. Each individual has the right of equal access to public and economic services of general interest. Public Administration bodies shall set the access conditions and quality standards for these services, regardless of the system for their provision.
2. Each individual has the right to be treated impartially and objectively by the public authorities of Catalonia in matters affecting them, and that the action of the public authorities be proportional to the ends justifying it.
3. The law shall regulate the conditions for exercise and ensuring the rights referred to in Sections 1 and 2 above, and shall determine the circumstances in which Catalan Public Administration bodies and any public services dependant on them shall adopt a charter of user rights and service providers obligations.

ARTICLE 31. RIGHT TO THE PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA

Each individual has the right to the protection of personal data contained in the records held by the Generalitat, and they have the right to access, examine and have these data corrected. An independent authority, designated by Parliament, shall ensure that these rights are respected under the terms established by law.




ARTICLE 32. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS CONCERNING THE KNOWLEDGE AND USE OF LANGUAGES

Each individual has the right not to be discriminated against for linguistic reasons. Legal acts executed in either of the two official languages have, in linguistic terms, full validity and effect.

ARTICLE 33. LINGUISTIC RIGHTS IN DEALINGS WITH PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION BODIES AND STATE INSTITUTIONS

1. Citizens have the right to linguistic choice. In their relations with institutions, organisations and Public Administration bodies in Catalonia, each individual has the right to use the official language of his or her choice. This right binds public institutions, organisations and administration bodies, including the electoral administration in Catalonia, and, in general, any private bodies depending on them when exercising public functions.
2. When dealing with the Administration of Justice, the Office of the Public Prosecutor, notaries and public registry offices, each individual has the right to use the official language of his or her choice in any judicial, notarial or registration procedures, and to receive all official documentation issued in Catalonia in the language requested, without having to endure defencelessness or undue delay due to the language chosen, and without having to provide any type of translation.
3. To guarantee the right to linguistic choice, judges and magistrates, public prosecutors, notaries, registrars of property and companies, those responsible for the Civil Registry and those in the service of the Administration of Justice, must demonstrate, in order to serve in Catalonia, in the form established by law, that they have an adequate and sufficient knowledge of the official languages which renders them fit to fulfil the functions of their post or workplace.
4. To guarantee the right to linguistic choice, the Administration of the State in Catalonia must demonstrate that the staff in its service has an adequate and sufficient knowledge of the two official languages that renders it fit to fulfil the functions of their post.
5. The citizens of Catalonia have the right to communicate in writing in Catalan with the constitutional entities and with the State-wide jurisdictional bodies, in accordance with the procedures established by the corresponding legislation. These institutions shall attend to and process written communications in Catalan, which shall have in all cases, full legal validity.

ARTICLE 34. LINGUISTIC RIGHTS OF CONSUMERS AND USERS

Each individual, in his or her capacity as user or consumer of goods, products and services, has the right to be attended orally or in writing in the official language of his or her choice. Bodies, companies and establishments that are open to the public in Catalonia are bound by the obligation of linguistic availability within the terms established by law.

ARTICLE 35. LINGUISTIC RIGHTS IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION

1. Each individual has the right to receive an education in Catalan, as established in this Estatut. Catalan shall be used as the teaching and learning language for university and non-university education.
2. Pupils have the right to receive an education in Catalan at the non-university level. They also have the right and obligation to have a sufficient oral and written knowledge of Catalan and Castilian upon completing compulsory education, whatever their habitual language of use when starting their education. The Catalan and Castilian languages shall be sufficiently represented in the curricula.
3. Pupils have the right not to be separated into centres or different class groups on the basis of their habitual language of use.
4. Those pupils who join the school system in Catalonia at a later age than normal school starting age have the right to receive special linguistic support if their lack of comprehension skills makes it difficult for them to pursue their education normally.
5. The teaching staff and pupils of universities have the right to express themselves, orally and in writing, in the official language of their choice.

ARTICLE 36. RIGHTS CONCERNING ARANESE

1. In Aran each individual has the right to know and use Aranese and to be attended orally and in writing in Aranese in his or her dealings with the Public Administration bodies and public and private entities accountable to them.
2. The citizens of Aran have the right to use Aranese in their dealings with the Generalitat.
3. Other linguistic rights and obligations relating to Aranese shall be determined by law.

ARTICLE 37. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. The rights recognised in Chapters I, II and III of this Title bind all the public authorities of Catalonia and, depending on the nature of each right, individual citizens. Regulations passed by the public authorities in Catalonia shall respect these rights and shall be interpreted and applied in the most appropriate way so as to ensure their full effectiveness. The rights recognised by Articles 32 and 33 also bind the General Administration of the State in Catalonia.
2. Parliament shall approve the Charter of Rights and Obligations of the Citizens of Catalonia by law. The provisions of this Article concerning the rights recognised in Chapters I, II and III of this Title shall also apply to the rights recognised in the above-mentioned Charter.
3. The essential regulation and the direct development of the rights recognised in Chapters I, II and III of this Title shall be effected through an Act of Parliament.
4. The rights and principles of this Title shall not imply any alteration to the system for distribution of powers nor the creation of new Titles regarding powers nor the modification of those that already exist. None of the provisions of this Title shall be enacted, applied or interpreted in any way that reduces or restricts the fundamental rights recognised in the Constitution and in international treaties and conventions ratified by Spain.

ARTICLE 38. PROTECTION

1. The Council for Statutory Guarantees protects the rights recognised in Chapters I, II and III of this Title and the Charter of Rights and Obligations of the Citizens of Catalonia, in accordance with Article 76.2 b and c.
2. Any act that undermines the rights recognised in Chapters I, II and III of this Title and in the Charter of Rights and Obligations of the Citizens of Catalonia may be appealed before the Supreme Court of Justice of Catalonia, in keeping with the procedure established by law.

ARTICLE 39. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. The public authorities of Catalonia shall direct public policy in accordance with the governing principles established by the Constitution and this Estatut. In the exercise of their powers, the public authorities of Catalonia shall promote and adopt any measures necessary to guarantee their full effectiveness.
2. The recognition, respect and protection of these governing principles shall shape positive legislation, judicial practice and the actions of the public authorities.
3. The governing principles are invocable before the jurisdiction, in accordance with the provisions of the law and other regulations that develop them.

ARTICLE 40. PROTECTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE FAMILY

1. The public authorities shall have as their objective the improvement of the quality of life for all individuals.
2. The public authorities shall guarantee the legal, economic, and social protection of the various forms of family regulated by law, as a basic structure, as an element that favours social cohesion, and as the primary structure for coexistence between individuals. They shall, moreover, promote the economic measures and supportive regulations for families aimed at guaranteeing a balance between professional and family life and having children, with special attention to large families.
3. The public authorities shall guarantee the protection of children, in particular, from all forms of exploitation, abandonment, ill-treatment and cruelty, and from poverty and its effects. In all actions implemented by the public authorities or by private institutions, the interests of the child shall be awarded priority.
4. The public authorities shall promote public policies to encourage the emancipation of young people, by facilitating access to work and housing so that they may develop their own lives and participate with equal rights and obligations in social and cultural life.
5. The public authorities shall guarantee the legal protection of people with disabilities and shall promote their social, economic and occupational integration. They shall also adopt the necessary measures to replace or complement the support from their immediate family environment.
6. The public authorities shall guarantee the protection of the elderly so that they may lead a decent and independent life and be able to participate in social and cultural life. They shall also strive for full integration of the elderly in society by means of public policies based on the principle of inter-generational solidarity.
7. The public authorities shall promote the equality of the different stable forms of union established between couples, bearing in mind their characteristics, regardless of the sexual orientation of the partners. The law shall regulate these unions and other forms of cohabitation and their consequences.
8. The public authorities shall promote the equality of all individuals, regardless of background, nationality, gender, race, religion, social condition or sexual orientation, and shall also promote the eradication of racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, homophobia, and of any other manifestation that may constitute a violation of the equality and dignity of the individual.

ARTICLE 41. THE GENDER PERSPECTIVE

1. The public authorities shall guarantee adherence to the principle of equal opportunities for women and men in access to work, training, professional promotion, working conditions, including salary, and in all other circumstances, and shall also guarantee that women will not be discriminated against as a consequence of pregnancy or motherhood.
2. The public authorities shall guarantee integration of the gender perspective and of women into all public policies so as to ensure real and effective equality and parity between women and men.
3. Public policies shall guarantee that all forms of violence against women and actions of a sexist and discriminatory nature shall be dealt with as a whole; they shall encourage the recognition of the role of women in the cultural, historical, social and economic fields, and shall promote the participation of women's groups and associations in drafting and evaluating these policies.
4. The public authorities shall recognise and take into account the economic value of domestic care and attention in establishing economic and social policies.
5. The public authorities, in the sphere of their powers, and in the cases established by law, shall ensure that the free choice of women is the determining factor in all matters that may affect their dignity, integrity and physical and mental welfare, most particularly in matters affecting their own bodies and their reproductive and sexual health.

ARTICLE 42. SOCIAL COHESION AND WELFARE

1. The public authorities shall promote public policies that foster social cohesion and that guarantee a system of social services, whether public or private with public subsidies, which is appropriate to the economic and social indices of Catalonia.
2. The public authorities shall ensure full social, economic and occupational integration of the individuals and groups most in need of protection, particularly those who are in situations of poverty and at risk of social exclusion.
3. The public authorities shall ensure the dignity, safety, and full protection of all individuals, especially those who are most vulnerable.
4. The public authorities shall guarantee the quality of service and the free nature of public healthcare under the terms established by law.
5. The public authorities shall promote preventive and community policies and shall guarantee the quality and the free nature of any social service designated by law as basic.
6. The public authorities shall take the necessary measures to establish a system for receiving immigrants, and shall promote policies to guarantee recognition and effectiveness of their rights and obligations, equality of opportunity and the services and assistance that will facilitate their social and economic accommodation and their participation in public affairs.
7. The public authorities shall ensure social, cultural and religious harmony among individuals in Catalonia, and respect for diversity of belief and ethical and philosophical convictions. They shall foster intercultural relations through the encouragement and creation of forums for mutual awareness, dialogue and mediation. They shall also guarantee recognition of the culture of the Romany people so as to safeguard their historical heritage.

ARTICLE 43. PROMOTION OF PARTICIPATION

1. The public authorities shall promote social participation in drafting, providing and evaluating public policies, and also the participation of individuals and associations in civic, social, cultural, economic and political matters, with full respect for the principles of pluralism, free enterprise and autonomy.
2. The public authorities shall facilitate citizen and political participation and representation, with special attention to the less populated areas of the territory.
3. The public authorities shall ensure that institutional campaigns organised on the occasion of electoral processes have as their aim the encouragement of citizen participation and that the information on electoral candidates provided by the media to the electorate is accurate, objective and neutral and that it respects political pluralism.

ARTICLE 44. EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND CULTURE

1. The public authorities shall guarantee the quality of the education system and shall provide a human, scientific and technical education for students that is based on the social values of equality, solidarity, freedom, pluralism and civil responsibility, and all other values that form the basis of democratic coexistence.
2. The public authorities shall ensure sufficient knowledge of a third language by completion of compulsory education.
3. The public authorities shall promote and encourage the involvement and the participation of the family in the education of children, within the framework of the education community, and shall facilitate and promote access to extra-curricular educational activities.
4. The public authorities shall foster high-quality scientific investigation and research, artistic creativity, and the conservation and dissemination of the cultural heritage of Catalonia.
5. The public authorities shall take the necessary action to enable all individuals to have access to culture, to cultural goods and services, and to the cultural, archaeological, historical, industrial and artistic heritage of Catalonia.

ARTICLE 45. THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC FIELD

1. The public authorities shall adopt the necessary measures to promote the economic and social progress of Catalonia and its citizens, based on the principles of solidarity, cohesion, sustainable development and equal opportunities.
2. The public authorities shall promote a fairer distribution of personal and territorial wealth within the framework of a Catalan welfare system.
3. The public authorities shall adopt the measures necessary to guarantee the labour and trade union rights of workers, and shall encourage and promote their participation in companies, and policies of full employment, increased job stability, employee training, occupational risk prevention, occupational health and safety, the creation of decent workplace conditions, non-discrimination for reasons of gender, and the guarantee of necessary rest periods and paid holidays.
4. The Generalitat shall promote the creation of a Catalan labour relations space, established in accordance with the specific productive and business reality of Catalonia and of the social agents of Catalonia, in which the trade unions, employer organisations and the Administration of the Generalitat shall be represented. Within this framework, the public authorities shall foster the practice of social dialogue, agreement, collective bargaining, out-of-court settlement of labour disputes, and participation in the development and improvement of the productive fabric.
5. The Generalitat shall favour the development of business activity and the entrepreneurial spirit, taking into account the social responsibility of the company, free enterprise and the conditions for competitiveness, and shall protect in particular the productive economy and the activity of self-employed entrepreneurs, and of small and medium-sized enterprises. The Generalitat shall foster the action of cooperatives and labour associations and shall stimulate social economy initiatives.
6. Trade unions and employer organisations shall participate in the definition of public policies which affect them. The Generalitat shall promote mediation and arbitration for the resolution of conflicts of interest between different social agents.
7. Professional organisations and public law bodies representing economic and professional interests and third sector associations are to be consulted in the definition of public policies which affect them.
8. The Generalitat, taking into consideration the social, cultural and economic promotion functions of savings banks, shall protect their institutional autonomy and shall promote the social contribution of these entities to the economic and social strategies of the different territories of Catalonia.

ARTICLE 46. THE ENVIRONMENT, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND TERRITORIAL BALANCE

1. The public authorities shall ensure the protection of the environment through the adoption of public policies based on sustainable development and on collective and inter-generational solidarity.
2. Environmental policies shall be particularly addressed to the reduction of different types of pollution, to establishing standards and minimum protection levels, outlining measures for the correction of environmental damage, the sensible use of natural resources, prevention and control of erosion and of activities that alter the atmospheric and climatic pattern, and respect for the principles of environmental protection, conservation of natural resources, responsibility, ecological control, and recycling and reuse of goods and products.
3. The public authorities shall create conditions for the preservation of nature and biodiversity, promote the integration of environmental objectives into sectoral policies, and establish conditions in which all individuals can enjoy the natural heritage and landscape.
4. The public authorities shall ensure economic and territorial cohesion by applying policies that ensure a special treatment for mountain zones, protection of the landscape and the coastline, the promotion of agriculture, livestock farming and forestry, and a balanced distribution of productive sectors, services of general interest and communication networks throughout the territory.
5. The public authorities shall provide citizens with environmental information and encourage education in values concerning the preservation and improvement of the environment as a common heritage.

ARTICLE 47. HOUSING
The public authorities shall facilitate access to housing by means of the provision of land and the promotion of public and subsidised housing, with special attention to young people and groups with the greatest needs.

ARTICLE 48. MOBILITY AND ROAD SAFETY

1. The public authorities shall promote transport and communication policies based on sustainability criteria that encourage the use of public transportation and the improvement of mobility, and which guarantee access for people with reduced mobility.
2. The public authorities shall encourage, as a matter of priority, measures aimed at improving road safety and reducing the number of traffic accidents, placing particular emphasis on prevention, road safety education, and the care of accident victims.

ARTICLE 49. PROTECTION OF CONSUMERS AND USERS

1. The public authorities shall guarantee the protection of health, safety, and the defence of the rights and legitimate interests of consumers and users.
2. The public authorities shall guarantee the existence of consumer mediation and arbitration instruments, promote awareness and use of these instruments, and provide support to consumers and user associations.

ARTICLE 50. PROMOTION AND DISSEMINATION OF CATALAN

1. The public authorities shall protect the Catalan language in all fields and sectors and shall foment its knowledge, use and dissemination. These principles shall also be applied to Aranese.
2. Government, universities and higher education institutions, in their respective powers, shall adopt the relevant measures to guarantee the use of the Catalan language in all teaching, administrative and research activities.
3. Policies for the promotion of the Catalan language shall be spread to the whole of the State, the European Union and the rest of the world.
4. The public authorities shall take steps to ensure that the information contained on labels, packaging and instructions for use of products distributed in Catalonia are also printed in Catalan.
5. The Generalitat, the local administration and other public corporations in Catalonia, the institutions and companies answerable to them and the franchisees of their services, shall use Catalan for their internal proceedings and for relations among themselves. They shall also use it in communications and notifications addressed to natural or legal persons resident in Catalonia, without prejudice to citizen rights to receive them in Castilian should they ask for this.
6. The public authorities shall guarantee the use of Catalan sign language and conditions of equality for deaf people who chooses to use this language, which shall be the subject of education, protection and respect.
7. The State, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, shall support the application of the principles stated in this Article. Instruments for coordination and, where necessary, combined action for improved efficacy, shall be established.

ARTICLE 51. ARTICLE 51. COOPERATION FOR PROMOTION OF PEACE AND COOPERATION FOR DEVELOPMENT

1. The Generalitat shall promote a culture of peace and actions that foster peace in the world.
2. The Generalitat shall promote cooperation actions and policies for the development of peoples and shall establish emergency humanitarian aid programmes.

ARTICLE 52. THE MEDIA

1. The public authorities shall promote the conditions which guarantee the right to information and the right to receive accurate information from the media and contents that respect personal dignity and political, social, cultural and religious pluralism. In the case of publicly-owned media, the information provided shall also be neutral.
2. The public authorities shall promote the conditions that guarantee equal access to audiovisual services in Catalonia.

ARTICLE 53. ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

1. The public authorities shall facilitate knowledge of the information society and shall encourage equal access to communication and to information technologies in all areas of life, including the workplace; they shall encourage that these technologies are at the service of people and do not negatively affect their rights, and shall guarantee the provision of services by means of the above-mentioned technologies, in accordance with the principles of universality, continuity and modernisation.
2. The Generalitat shall promote technological training, research and innovation so that the opportunities for progress offered by the knowledge and information society may contribute to improved social welfare and cohesion.

ARTICLE 54. HISTORICAL MEMORY

1. The Generalitat and the other public authorities shall work for the knowledge and the maintenance of the historical memory of Catalonia as a collective heritage that bears witness to its resistance and struggle for rights and democratic freedoms. To this end, they shall adopt the necessary institutional initiatives for the recognition and rehabilitation of all those citizens who have suffered persecution as a consequence of their defence of democracy and Catalan self-government.
2. The Generalitat shall strive to make its historical memory a permanent symbol of tolerance, of the dignity of democratic values, of the rejection of totalitarianism, and of recognition for all individuals who have suffered persecution as a consequence of personal, ideological or conscientious choices.