{{Short description|1980s Scottish protest group}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2025}} {{Use British English|date=November 2025}} {{more citations needed|date=September 2014}}
In the early 1980s in Scotland, '''Ceartas''' ({{IPA|gd|ˈkʲʰarˠʃt̪əs̪|-|Ceartas.ogg}}; meaning 'justice') was a protest group which attempted to publicise the unequal treatment of the Gaelic language.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/naidheachdan/50247519 |title=A' Ghàidhlig sa chùirt |work=BBC News |date=31 October 2019 |access-date=16 November 2025|language=gd}}</ref>
The group was founded in 1981, in the wake of the failure of MP Donald Stewart's private member's bill, which had sought for Gaelic the same status enjoyed by Welsh in Wales. Some of those who travelled to London to observe the progress of the bill, most of them students from Aberdeen, Edinburgh or Glasgow, met afterwards to discuss non-violent direct action, a tactic which had played a key role in the campaigns of Cymdeithas yr Iaith in Wales. Members of the group included Iain Taylor, Mark Wringe, Alan Esslemont,<ref name=":0" /> Stephen Maceachern, Anne Martin, Kay Matheson and the MacDonald brothers. Picking up on the ongoing road sign controversy, they defaced road signs around Scotland, and painted the slogan ''Ceartas airson na Gàidhlig'' (''Justice for Gaelic'') across roads. An anonymous statement was released to the press, resulting in widespread public attention. Ultimately Iain Taylor was arrested, though never convicted.
In court, a witness on Taylor's behalf attempted to give evidence in Gaelic and was forbidden to do so. This contradicted a 19th-century precedent which allowed the use of Gaelic in court, resulting in a legal review which established the principle that Gaelic could be used in court only if the witness could not speak English.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Sources== * Roger Hutchinson, ''A Waxing Moon: The Modern Gaelic Revival'', Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh, 2005. {{ISBN|1-84018-794-8}}. {{Gaels}}
Category:Scottish Gaelic language Category:Political advocacy groups in Scotland