Relevant Aspects of National Minorities in Romania

Abstract

The issue of national minorities must contribute to the correct treatment and understanding of this phenomenon, given the respect for human rights for all individuals and the principles that must be observed in inter-state relations. The topic addressed in this paper has overlapping points with history, politics, sociology, psychology and law. It presents various points of view on the protection of minorities, but without claiming to have exhausted such a complex subject. Thus, we will refer first, to some directions in defining the concept of ˮnational minoritiesˮ. Then, we will analyze the controversial issue of whether or not the rights of minorities are recognized individually or collectively. We will continue by making a succinct presentation of the legal framework on the protection of national minorities in Romania and we will conclude this study with some synthetic comments on the subject under debate. The subject is of a particular importance in the context of delaying the adoption of appropriate legislation on the matter in Romania.