A Comparison of East European Constitutional Rights

Abstract

This article examines the rights and liberties prescribed in East European constitutions. Using a modified classification framework developed by van Maarseveen and van der Tang and Blaustein, this article analyses 12 East European constitutions with regard to four categories of rights (fundamental, legal, economic and political). Individual and group-based rights in these countries are compared in order to determine if there is a difference between how countries define legal rights. The findings generally support the hypothesis that less repressive countries have less-enumerated rights. The findings also indicate that the extension of ethnic-based minority rights is often predicated on the constitutional recognition of a specific nation.