Mirelle ReschNeue Entwicklungen im europäischen Minderheitenrecht unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Minority SafePack

About this book deutschenglish

European minority law gained particular attention in the 1990s. Various instruments were developed, which still form the foundation of minority law today. Building on this, this work presents the existing standards and protection instruments on which minorities can rely.

It begins by addressing the problem of defining minorities. The question of who should bene-fit from minority rights is pivotal for regulations on minority rights, as is the search for a generally recognized definition.

Although there are now many institutions dealing with minority protection issues, no internationally uniform protection standard can be devised as of yet. As a consequence of the opposition by many states against stronger protection measures, many rules in this field are not binding.

Both the international and the European level are discussed in this book. At the level of inter-national law, efforts have been made primarily within the framework of the United Nations. In the European legal area, the CSCE/OSCE, the Council of Europe and the European Union have issued provisions relevant to minority protection. This writing not only aims at analysing existing protection instruments but also at presenting current developments and efforts in this field. Particular attention is paid to the Minority SafePack. As part of this European Citizens’ Initiative, an attempt was made to strengthen the protection of minorities within the EU law. Since this initiative was submitted in 2013, several rulings have been issued by the General Court and the ECJ. The first rulings were in favour of the initiative’s request. However, in the most recent judgment of the General Court of November 2022, the Citizens’ Committee’s complaint was dismissed. The Court agreed with the European Commission that it was not necessary to adopt further protective standards for minorities as important protective instruments are already in place. An appeal against this ruling was lodged with the ECJ in January 2023.