individual rights
Belonging to a national minority is a fundamental right that applies to individuals and communities alike, and must always be interpreted in conjunction with the principle of equal rights and non-discrimination (prohibition of discrimination). Belonging to a national minority is a personal choice of the individual, and the right to express it – or not to express it – is embodied in the right to freely choose and assume a national identity derived from human dignity. While individual rights concerning national identity enjoy strong constitutional protection, additional rights deriving from them may be subject to conditions and limitations. As per the Hungarian concept of justice – and the practice of the Hungarian Constitutional Court (AB decision 45/2005. (XII.14.)) – a declaration of belonging to a national minority is a justifiable condition for the exercise of national minority political participation rights. Pursuant to Act CLXXIX of 2011 on the rights of nationalities (Njt.), members of the 13 national minority communities recognised in Hungary are entitled to the following individual rights, among others, which can be personally enforced by themselves:
– the freedom to declare one’s national identity, even anonymously, and to maintain or abandon one’s identity;
– the free use of the mother tongue of the national minority verbally and in writing;
– learning about, cultivating, enriching, and passing on the history, culture, and traditions of the given nationality;
– learning the mother tongue and participation in education in the mother tongue, equal opportunities in education;
– respect for national traditions relating to the family, the cultivation of family ties and the conduct of related religious community ceremonies in the mother tongue;
– choosing one’s own name and one’s children’s names and surnames, registering them according to the rules of their mother tongue and having them entered in official documents.
(See also: freedom of identity, right to identity.)