Drepturile lingvistice ale minorității maghiare în instanțele românești
Linguistic rights of the Hungarian minority before the Romanian courts

Summary/Abstract: I have tried to identify to what extent the practice of Romanian courts follows or violates the formal obligations Romania entered into regarding (also) the protection of the rights of the Hungarian minority, by ratifying the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. My investigations have shown that one point of conflict between the Hungarian minority and the representatives of the central authorities, that has ended up in the courts, is the display of some national symbols in the public space. I included the display of some traditional Hungarian names on public buildings and the display of some Hungarian regional symbols of identity, like the flag of the Szekely Land. My research shows that the decisions of the courts have gone, in the vast majority of cases, against the Hungarian minority. I show that in each case the unfavorable decisions violated the provisions of the two Council of Europe conventions on the protection of the identity of national minorities, to which Romania is a party.

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