The Legislative and Institutional Framework of National Minorities in Romania

The present study aims to reignite the debate on the variables of the relationships between the majority and the national minorities, as well as stress the importance of the latter being involved, after 1989, in the making of the new democratic and constitutional framework. It briefly observes the internal and EU rules related to the legal protection of national minorities. It presents the current legal and institutional framework on national minorities in Romania, thus highlighting the fact that protecting national minorities has been one of the political requirements that Romania had to comply with as part of the EU accession process. The link between the right to identity – in its ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious components – and non-discrimination principle is analyzed from the perspective of both constitutional norms and that infraconstitutional legislation. The existence and implementation of a legal framework that is generally favorable to minority rights allow us to conclude that Romania is an inclusive society, where the principle of diversity is promoted and respected, this being a merit of both the majority and national minorities.