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National Assembly for Wales (Official Languages) Act 2012
Act of the National Assembly for Wales
	National Assembly for Wales
Long title	An Act of the National Assembly for Wales to make provision about the use of the English and Welsh languages in proceedings of the National Assembly for Wales and in the discharge of the functions of the Assembly Commission.
Citation	2012 anaw 1
Introduced by	Rhodri Glyn Thomas
Territorial extent	Wales
Dates
Royal assent	12 November 2012
Commencement	13 November 2012
Other legislation
Relates to	Government of Wales Act 2006
Status: Current legislation
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted

The National Assembly for Wales (Official Languages) Act 2012 (Welsh: Deddf Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru (Ieithoedd Swyddogol) 2012) was an act of the then National Assembly for Wales placing a statutory duty on the National Assembly for Wales for the provision of bilingual services. The act was significant as the first act of law passed in Wales for over 600 years.

Provision and significance

The National Assembly for Wales (Official Languages) Act 2012 was an act of the National Assembly for Wales that was given royal assent on 12 November 2012. It is significant in that it is the first Act passed in Wales to become law in over 600 years.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The Act included amendments to the Government of Wales Act 2006 and placed a statutory duties on the then National Assembly for Wales and Assembly Commission for provision of bilingual services in Wales.^[4]^[5]

It was not the first bill passed by the National Assembly for Wales, which was the bill for the Local Government Byelaws (Wales) Act 2012,^[6] but was the first to receive royal assent and so become law. The bill was passed by the National Assembly for Wales on 3 October 2012,^[7] but then underwent a statutory period of intimation, so that lawyers could verify that it fell within the remit of the National Assembly for Wales. Royal assent was given when the Welsh Seal was affixed to the Letters Patent by First Minister Carwyn Jones on 12 November 2012;^[1]^[2]^[3] it was gazetted on 16 November.^[8]

Carwyn Jones said of the act during a short ceremony, "This is the first act that has been passed by a legislature in Wales for more than 600 years. It's an exceptionally historic day", he said. "Wales is an old country, but a young democracy. Today is a historic day for us as a nation. It heralds the beginning of a new era for the governance of Wales."^[9]

The letters patent were to be displayed at the National Assembly for Wales with all other future Acts to be stored at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b "First Welsh Act passes into law". Caerphilly Observer. 13 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
^ ^a ^b Morris, Steven (12 November 2012). "Welsh assembly passes its first bill". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c Masters, Adrian (12 November 2012). "First Welsh law 'for 600 years'". ITV Wales. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
^ "Devolution in Wales – test your knowledge". Open University in Wales. Archived from the original on 14 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
^ "National Assembly for Wales (Official Languages) Act 2012". Senedd Business. 2 February 2014. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023.
^ Mason, Toby (9 October 2012). "Legality of first Welsh bill challenged at Supreme Court". BBC News Wales. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
^ Gurner, Richard (4 October 2012). "Welsh and English become official languages of Assembly as AMs pass historic Bill". Caerphilly Observer. Archived from the original on 20 June 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
^ "No. 60329". The London Gazette. 16 November 2012. pp. 22047–22048.
^ Morris, Steven (12 November 2012). "Welsh assembly passes its first bill". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023.