– I have broken one law, but so has the state – namely the target law, says Jens Brekke. The now retired man rummages through a pile of paper. A whole pile of letters has become for the parish who wishes to be met with the target form he believes he is entitled to. He has been fighting for the right since the 80s. You can read the summary of the 35-year-long dispute at the bottom of the case. The amount of paper shows the extent of the correspondence that has taken place between him and various government bodies over the past 35 years. Photo: Ingrid Nedrebø / news Speeding ticket in Bokmål It was in January this year that Jens Brekke drove 7 km/h too fast in the 50 zone. NOK 2,300 and a simplified proposal, or “a simplified proposal”, was the consequence. A fine he would naturally pay. – It’s all right, I was driving too fast. Of course I will pay for myself! But I want the police to give me the form on my target form. Brekke believes he has the right to receive the introduction in Nynorsk through the Language Act, or Targets Act as it was called until 2021. Jens has been called stubborn before. He himself believes that it is the state that is wrong. Photo: Odd Inge Gjeraker / news – If I had wanted it in Polish or English, I would have got it, but not Nynorsk. It shouldn’t be like this, says the parish. But the Norwegian Police Directorate interprets the law differently. Disagreement about the language law includes fines In a letter the police directorate has sent to news, they write that Brekke is not entitled to a Nynorsk form. Namely, they support the Civil Ombudsman’s interpretation of the legislation, which says that such proposals belong to the judiciary, which again is not included in the Language Act. This interpretation is in connection with another case from 1994. In addition, the police directorate also refers to §2 of the Targets Act which applies to generally available forms, where simplified submissions do not apply. But the old Target Act was repealed when the new Language Act came into effect in 2022. The police are thus referring to laws that no longer exist. Brekke, for his part, believes that it is the Ministry of Culture’s interpretation of the law as applicable, where target use in public service applies to absolutely all places in public service. And that is the very core of the disagreement between the police and Brekke that has persisted for 35 years. – Brekke discovered errors in the system When Brekke received the simplified notice in Bokmål in the post, he complained to Trøndelag police district, where the speeding offense took place. Police attorney Bente Lind rejected the complaint, because it is not possible to change a proposal that the recipient has accepted. – He cannot come afterwards and request a change to the content, says Lind. But the police attorney says they are happy that Brekke made them aware of the lack of Nynorsk in their system. – I have given notice of the problem, and hope we can get a solution in place that offers proposals for both target forms in the future, says Lind. Archive from 2015: From when Brekke was finally able to speak Nynorsk after seven months. Photo: Stine Kyrkjebø Johansen / news When Brekke fought the same case almost ten years ago, the problem was the same. The work to develop a new computer system is said to have been the reason why Brekke had to argue to get treatment in Nynorsk. And the promise the police made in 2015 was clear: Both goal forms were to be in place by January 1, 2018. The Language Council and Norges Mållag support Brekke. demand for a fine in Nynorsk. – I think it is completely unbelievable that Jens Brekke has to fight against the authorities once again to have his individual speech rights protected. Leader of Norges Mållag, Peder Lofnes Hauge. Photo: Kristianne Marøy The team leader thinks the police themselves are turning themselves into thugs by not following the language law. – We must all follow Norwegian laws and regulations, especially public bodies. They are forced to put in place a system that communicates in both Nynorsk and Bokmål, says Lofnes Hauge. Åse Wetås in the Language Council agrees. – When the state corresponds in writing with private legal entities, according to Section 15 of the Language Act, it must be done in the written language requested by the private legal entity. This is about residents’ rights in the face of the public, says Wetås. A stubborn goalkeeper or state overrun? The parish hopes he and the police can come to terms once and for all. But before that happens, he insists that this is about government overdriving. – They are taking away from us the opportunity to get Nynorsk into everyday life, he says. But the steadfast goalkeeper will not call himself stubborn. – I am not the one who decided these rules. The Storting has adopted the Targets Act, and later the Language Act, and then they must follow it. The only thing missing would be that I get the introduction in my own language, says Brekke. In 2015, he was able to let loose the jubilation when he finally won. A cake, wearing, among other things, the police’s logo, was the thank you that he was finally heard. Photo: Stine Kyrkjebø Johansen / news Soga about Jens Brekke’s Bokmål fines: At the end of the 80s, Brekke received his first simplified sentence. Then he had to argue for eight years before he got it in Nynorsk. The second time, in 2014, it took seven months before he was cured of his goal form. This round it also went all the way to the Storting’s question time before the police gave Brekke what he was entitled to. Then he celebrated with a cake, decorated with the symbol of the police. In 2014, the police said that the reason for the lack of Nynorsk was the transition to a new computer system. The police then promised that both target forms would be in place by 1 January 2018. When Brekke received a speeding ticket in 2023, according to him, getting the notice in Nynorsk was not an option. Through an exchange of letters with, among others, the UP (Utrykningspolitiet) and the police attorney, Brekke explained that he would pay when he received the fine in Nynorsk. When this was not heard, the invoice from the State’s collection center went to debt collection. To show his willingness to pay, Brekke paid 3/4 of the sum with the message that he would wait with the remaining sum until he was heard. According to Brekke, and documents news has seen, the State’s Collection Center then transferred the case to the Swedish Tax Agency, which without warning withdrew the remaining sum from his account. Thus, the fine has been paid and the case finished without Brekke winning as in the first two occasions.
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Jens Brekke has to argue to a fine in Nynorsk for the third time – news Culture and entertainment
