Projects / Programmes
Analysis of the situation of the Croatian, German and Serbian communities in the Republic of Slovenia
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.05.00 |
Social sciences |
Law |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.05 |
Social Sciences |
Law |
Human rights; minority rights; Slovenian constitutional order; Croatian, Serbian and German communities
Researchers (6)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
The primary goal of the present research project is to analyse the situation of the Croatian, German and Serbian communities in the Republic of Slovenia (RS) and answer the main research question whether their position is appropriate and appropriate from the point of view of Slovenian constitutional law and international human rights law. The Slovenian state is very diverse, as it is home to members of the Slovenian nation as well as other ethnic and ethical groups. The Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 33/91-) recognizes members of the two Italian and Hungarian national communities with special collective rights, which apply only to them as members of this community. The Constitution also provides special protection for members of the Roma community. In addition to these constitutionally protected groups, many other ethnic groups live in Slovenia, which do not have the status of national minorities. International human rights law does not provide a definition of a minority, as there is no consensus among states. The Republic of Slovenia has opted for a model where the number of communities granting them special rights has been narrowly limited, and a topic that meets these criteria grants a very wide range of minority rights. Minority rights are not static rights, so it is necessary to ask whether such a model is (still) appropriate. Members of the German-speaking, Croatian, Serbian, Bosniak, Albanian, Montenegrin and Macedonian ethnic groups in Slovenia have repeatedly demanded that they also be constitutionally recognized and granted special minority rights. The Bosniak, Albanian, Montenegrin and Macedonian ethnic groups refer mainly to abundance, as they do not meet the criteria of autochthony. The history of the German-speaking, Croatian and Serbian ethnic groups is somewhat different. It is true for the Croatian, German and Serbian communities that today they preserve only the folklore characteristics of their past presence in the autochthonous territory. The question therefore arises as to how these communities could absorb the same collective rights as the Italian and Hungarian national communities if they were granted the same constitutional status. Eg. who would teach in their schools (for example, almost no one speaks Kočevarsko anymore), who would go to these schools at all, who could create their media, who would read them at all, where would bilingual public signs be placed at all, etc.? Is their position as they are now appropriate from the point of view of Slovenian constitutional law and human rights law? The Ministry of Culture and the Public Fund for Cultural Activities finance their activities through tenders, their mother tongues are present in school curricula as foreign languages, etc. Is it possible that the current model is not appropriate, nor would equalization with the Italians and Hungarians be appropriate, but that a third level of minority protection in Slovenia would be needed? These are relevant questions that need to be answered as a precondition for thinking about changing the model of minority protection in the Republic of Slovenia. The primary purpose of the project is to determine the number of members of these three communities, their areas of residence, social characteristics and to assess whether their legal position in the Republic of Slovenia is properly regulated. A relevant question that will be the focus of this project is also whether the Croatian, German and Serbian communities are similar in their history on Slovenian territory and in today's characteristics, or are they communities with very different characteristics? In this light, we will formulate concrete proposals and recommendations for Slovenian foreign policy on how to present the Slovenian model of protection of minority rights in the international community.
