When accepting the new function the President of the Klagenfurt Regional Court Manfred Herrnhofer also addressed the question of bilingual courts in Carinthia. At this occassion he openly told that he supports the introduction of bilinguality at the Regional Court in Klagenfurt and at the both District Courts in Voelkermarkt and Villach, however with possible closure of District Courts in Bleiburg/Pliberk, Eisenkappel/Železna Kapla and Ferlach/Borovlje.
Up till now the reactions have been mixed. While the President of the Council for Slovenian Minority at the Office of the Federal Chancellor and the Mayor of the Municipality Globasnitz/Globasnica Bernard Sadovnik stressed that it would be the time to activate what is already 70 years stated in in Austrian State Treaty, however he is opposing the closure of the District Courts in exchange for bilingual jurisdiction at the courts in Klagenfurt, Villach and Voelkermarkt, what would also bring a loss of numerous working places at the countryside. Similar was the reaction of the Team Kaernten’s delegate and the spokesman for minority questions in this party, namely Franc Jožef Smrtnik from Eisenkappel.
Layer Rudi Vouk is however against the standpoint of Sadovnik and Smrtnik regarding the possibility of closing the three bilingual District Courts in spite of implementation of bilinguality at the District Courts in Klagenfurt, Villach and Voelkermarkt and at the Klagenfurt Regional Court. In an open letter he is critisizing the reaction of the Slovenian political representatives and is warning them not to threathen the reform.
