cultural rights
cultural rights – together with economic and social rights – appeared in democratic constitutions in the first third of the twentieth century. A common feature of so-called second-generation rights is that they require active state intervention including both legal regulation and ensuring the required institutional conditions. cultural rights provide opportunities for both individuals and groups to use, develop and share their cultural specificities (language, traditions, artistic specificities and history). However, given that cultural systems are complex consequences of the development of a group, cultural rights are essentially community-centred, with the individual being only an “indirect user”.
The Fundamental Law of Hungary formulates the above in a complex way when it states that the nationalities living in Hungary are constituent elements of the state. All Hungarian citizens belonging to a nationality have the right to freely assume and preserve their identities. National minorities living in Hungary have the right to use their mother tongue, to use their own names in their own language and in their communities, to cultivate their own culture and to receive education in their mother tongue. The current legislation thus provides the basis for the system of cultural autonomy. Its framework and the primary content of the individual and collective preservation of identity is regulated by the Nationality Act (Njt.). cultural rights in Hungary include a wide range of entitlements, protection measures, institutional guarantees and funding environment.