The judicial system in the province of Lleida has recorded a historic decline in the use of Catalan as the language for resolving cases. According to official data compiled in the annual report presented by the Generalitat’s Directorate-General for the Administration of Justice, judgments drafted in Catalan accounted for just 7.93% of the total issued in 2025. This figure marks an all-time low in the available historical series for the province, falling well below the index recorded in 2010, when the percentage stood at 25.7%. The drop between 2024 and 2025 was 22%, with the number of documents falling from 1,556 to 1,215. These data indicate that Spanish remains the dominant lingua franca in both the investigation and resolution of proceedings within the Lleida judiciary.

Accelerated decline compared to the Catalan average

The overall data for the province of Lleida reveal a sustained downward trend that has intensified in the most recent period analysed. While the percentage of judgments in Catalan across Catalonia as a whole fell slightly from 6.56% in 2024 to 6.34% in 2025, the province of Lleida has experienced a more pronounced contraction. At 7.93%, Lleida ranks as the second Catalan province with the highest use of this language in the judiciary, surpassed only by Girona, which reaches 11.6%.

Nevertheless, this position of relative leadership must be contextualised against the absolute magnitude of the figures. The gap between Lleida’s 7.93 per cent and Girona’s 11.6 per cent is significant, yet both figures remain marginal in a system where Castilian continues to be the default working language. The comparison with 2010 is particularly revealing: in barely fifteen years, the weight of Catalan in court rulings has fallen to almost half its initial value. This decline does not reflect a one-off statistical fluctuation, but rather a de facto restructuring of operational judicial practice.

The report notes that rulings in Castilian also fell by 9.6 per cent, a phenomenon attributable to the general reduction in the volume of judgments issued during the period. However, this numerical decrease does not alter the dominant proportion of Castilian as the language of resolution. The persistence of this language in the courts reflects an operational reality that prioritises clarity and accessibility for the majority of citizens and professionals involved in the judicial process.

Territorial disparity: from 33.7 per cent to zero

The linguistic map of the justice system in Lleida exhibits extreme heterogeneity between the different judicial districts. According to the detailed data published by the newspaper Segre, the Balaguer district leads the province with 33.7 per cent of rulings in Catalan, followed by Solsona with 25.54 per cent and Cervera with 24.5 per cent. While significant within the provincial aggregate, these figures are exceptional.

By contrast, the capital, Lleida, records a mere 5.54%, while La Seu d’Urgell falls to 0.43%. The most extreme situation is observed in the districts of Tremp and Vielha, where the proportion of rulings issued in Catalan stands at 0%. These two territories have not issued a single resolution in Catalan during the 2025 period under analysis. This geographical disparity highlights that linguistic practice within the administration of justice is far from homogeneous; rather, it is contingent upon local factors such as demographic composition, the professionalisation of staff, or the specific demands of the parties involved. The total absence of usage in Tremp and Vielha, coupled with its minimal presence in the capital, underscores a fragmented practice.

Citizen demand as the driver of change

The official report identifies several causes for this trend, chief among them being the lack of genuine demand from citizens and legal professionals. The data quantify this reality with precision: only 6.12% of claims filed before the courts in Lleida were drafted in Catalan. Similarly, requests to receive documentation in Catalan were made in just 8.06% of cases. These figures constitute the most direct indicator of the parties’ intent: the vast majority of litigants, whether natural or legal persons, prefer or require proceedings to be conducted in Spanish.

This linguistic preference has documented practical consequences, as outlined in the report. A significant contributing factor cited is the need to translate documentation into Spanish for cases that must be processed outside the region, or to prevent allegations of a lack of defence. The report also highlights the bureaucratic complexity associated with mandatory bilingualism, particularly in a context where Spanish serves as the general language of communication in the province’s economic and social life. Furthermore, the fact that knowledge of Catalan is not a mandatory requirement for holding positions within the judiciary is identified as a structural factor. In practice, the system adapts to effective demand: if the majority of lawyers, judges and parties operate in Spanish, legal output is produced in that language.

The role of lawyers and staff training

The stance of legal professionals is a key element in this equation. According to data from the Lleida Bar Association, 31.8% of lawyers on the duty roster are enrolled in the Catalan language promotion programme. Specifically, 97 out of a total of 305 solicitors participate in this scheme. Although this figure represents a minority, it indicates that a segment of the legal profession is interested in the use of Catalan, though it does not constitute the norm. The majority of professionals either do not join these programmes or fail to complete them, thereby reinforcing the trend towards Spanish as the customary working language.

Regarding the training of justice system staff, the data reveals a slight increase in participation, albeit from a low baseline. In 2025, 38 members of the justice staff in Lleida were enrolled in Catalan language courses, compared with 11 in 2024. Of these, 23 completed the training, versus five in 2024. Although the number of completers has risen, it remains a minimal proportion of the total number of civil servants and judges. This suggests that while the administration is providing training, the widespread adoption of the language in judicial practice is not the primary outcome. Training remains a complementary option rather than an operational requirement that would transform the daily practice of the majority of courts.

Institutional stance versus operational reality

The Generalitat’s Department of Justice has responded to these figures by defending the current language policy. Ramon Espadaler, the Minister of Justice, stated explicitly that the use of Catalan in the justice system “is not a whim”. This assertion seeks to frame language policy as both a right and a legal obligation. Nevertheless, the discrepancy between the institutional rhetoric and the operational data is starkly evident in the report’s figures.

While the administration champions the promotion of Catalan, the courts operate predominantly in Castilian, driven by user demand and the practical constraints of the system. The report clarifies that the decline in Catalan-language judgments is not attributable to a lack of judicial will, but rather to structural factors and demand-side dynamics. The imperative to safeguard the right to a defence and ensure accessible justice necessitates prioritising the language that guarantees full comprehension throughout the proceedings. The selection of Castilian as the language of resolution reflects the social reality of a province where the majority of the population are Castilian speakers and it is the language of daily life, economic activity and administration.

Future outlook

The annual report of the Department of Justice lays the groundwork for future linguistic policies in the province of Lleida. According to the document, no immediate regulatory changes are anticipated that would mandate a forced increase in the use of Catalan in judgments, given that the report acknowledges that the non-mandatory nature of language proficiency is a cause of the current situation. The Generalitat maintains its commitment to promoting Catalan, but the data suggest that this promotion will remain marginal against the prevailing trend.

The report does not specify the timelines for the implementation of new incentive measures, yet the continuation of training programmes for judicial staff and duty solicitors is likely. Whether these programmes are maintained or expanded will hinge on an assessment of their actual impact, which to date has been limited. Reactions from legal professionals and the public remain consistent: a preference for Castilian Spanish persists as the de facto norm. The next data review, scheduled for the coming financial year, will determine whether this downward trend stabilises or whether the decline in the use of Catalan in judgments within the province of Lleida continues. For the time being, judicial practice operates according to the logic of citizen demand, with Castilian Spanish remaining the predominant language and Catalan a minority exception.