Pojam nacionalne manjine i tretiranje individualnih i kolektivnih prava
The Concept of National Minority and Treatment of Individual and Collective Rights

Summary/Abstract: The Author points that in the 20th century the world is faced with „the ethnic revival“ and „explosion of identity“, and that is expressed not only in different claims and requests of ethnic groups which we treat as national minorities, but also in tensions and conflicts among groups inside states and among states. That requests constitutional and legal regulations and protection of the status of „National Minorities“. The role in determining the Concept of National Minority have also the perceptions of individual and collective rights. However, the term and concept of „National Minority“ was not used in the system of the League of Nations, but other terms were used to signify the subjects of protection. Also, for a long period after the World War II in the United Nations the stress was on the individualistic approach to rights and freedoms of individuals. Some reasons and arguments of different states are given which these used against the term „National Minority“, and how gradually this term began to be used by UN Special Agencies (like UNESCO) and UN institutions and bodies (Economic and Social Council and General Secretary). In constitutions and legal acts of the Republic of Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (consisting of Republics of Serbia and Montenegro) different terms were used to name ethnic groups as subjects of protection. It is explained how the concept of the subject of protection was determined in a formal sense, and what was the real character of the protection of their rights and freedoms. It is also pointed as important that individuals (ci-tizens) are not legally obliged to declare his/her national background or belon-gings. That is connected with the accepted legal principle that the belonging to National Minority or to an ethnic group is the subjective right of an individual. In this article the stress is on those elements of the International Law, the European Law, and other legal provisions which oblige the Republic of Serbia as a State, because the Authorities of this State have accepted and ratified the European Framework Convention and other acts, as well as „The Charter of Minority Rights and Civic Freedoms“of the State Community of the Republic Serbia and the Repu-blic of Montenegro. By this „Charter“the main principles and provisions of the Law on Protection of Rights and Freedoms of National (2002) are accepted. In this „Charter“ collective rights are stressed and accepted to a greater degree than it was the case in the quoted Law, but it is interpreted as implied in the sense of the Article 27 of the Pact on Political and Civic Rights (1966), which our State ratified.

• Details
• Contents