Two essential aspects are covered in this section: firstly, an explanation is given of the status granted by the legal statute to Basque, that is, to the language itself. Secondly, there is a kind of catalogue of the rights of the Basque-speaking citizens, of application in different day-to-day situations.

As regards the status of the language itself, we have taken its officiality as the focal point of the explanation, as it is well known that there is not one single regulation for the Basque language; three have been found, and we therefore endeavour to explain all three below.

We thus describe the three main legal statuses existing as regards the Basque language in the context of officiality and territoriality. Our objective is to explain what is meant by the officiality of the Basque language and the consequences it entails, specifying the obligations undertaken by the public administrations in favour of the Basque language and of its speakers, and describing the effects of these on the rights and obligations of Basque speakers.

Apart from the consequences of officiality - referring here to the lack of officiality of course - we include a specific description of the protection formula in Navarre. We have used the term "partial officiality" to describe the status granted to the Basque language in Navarre and its three different systems, and our objective is to treat it in one single manner from both a territorial standpoint and from that of the regulating bodies.

The second section focuses on an explanation of the language rights of Basque speakers. Independently of the socio-linguistic situation of the Basque language, the obstacles to its use are undeniable. We have therefore considered it important that Basque speakers should be aware of their legal rights and of the legal situation with regard to their right to choose the language in which they express themselves in any particular situation: at school, at work, in court, with third party individuals and with the administration.