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The Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities

Adopted 13th December 2002

(Excerpts)

I. BASIC PROVISIONS

Article 7

TheRepublicofCroatiaensures realization of special rights and freedoms of the members of national minorities enjoyed by them individually or together with other persons belonging to the same national minority, and when being determined by this Constitutional Act or special acts, together with members of other national minorities, especially:

1.usageof own language and script, in private and public use, and in official use;

2.educationand schooling in the language and script they are using;

4.culturalautonomy by means of keeping, developing and expressing their own culture, and preserving and protecting their cultural material heritage and tradition;

5.rightof confessing own religion and founding of religious communities together with other members if this religion;

6.accessto media of mass communication and performing of actions of public information (receiving and distribution of information) in the language and script they are using;

8.representationin representation bodies on national and local level, and in administration and judicial bodies;

9.participationof members of national minorities in public life and administration of local affairs by means of Councils and representatives of national minorities;

10.protectionfrom every act that endangers or can endanger their existence and exercise of rights and freedoms.

II. RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

Article 11

(1) A member of a national minority has the right to education and schooling in the language and script the national minority is using.

(2) Education and schooling of members of national minorities is being executed in pre-school institutions, primary and secondary schools and other school institutions (in the further text: school institution) with teaching in the language and script they are using, under provisions and in the way determined by the special act on education and schooling in the language and script of national minorities.

(3) School institutions with teaching in the language and script of a national minority can be established and education and schooling executed for a number of students smaller than those determined for school institutions with teaching in Croatian language and script.

(4) The teaching plan andprogrammein the language and script of the national minority beside the generalpart,must contain a part the content of which is in connection to the particularity of a national minority (mother tongue, literature, history, geography and cultural creation of the national minority).

(6) Educational work in a schooling institution with teaching in the language and script of a national minority is being performed by teachers who are members of the national minority, who are fully in command of the language and script of the national minority, or teachers who are not members of the national minority, but are fully in command of the language and script of the national minority.

(7) Institutions of higher educationorganisethe implementation ofprogrammesof education of educators, primary and secondary school teachers for performing of work of education and schooling in the language and script the national minorities are using, in the part containing particularities of the nationalminority(mother tongue, literature, history, geography and cultural creativity of the national minority).

(8) The members of national minorities can, for the purpose of exercising education and schooling of their members, in the way and under the provisions of this act, establish institutions of pre-school education, primary and secondary schools.

(9) It will be made possible for the students of a school institution in Croatian language to learn the language and script of a national minority in the way determined by a special act, and according to the teachingprogrammedetermined by the competent body of the central state administration, with provision of financial means in the state budget and in budgets of units of local self-government.

Article 16

(4) Members of national minority may freely express their religious affiliation and confess their religion and in accordance with it belong to a religious community.

IV. THE NATIONAL MINORITIES COMMITTEE

Article 35

(1) The National Minorities Committee is being established, for participation of national minorities in the public life of theRepublicofCroatia, and mostly for consideration and suggestion of regulation and solution of issues connected to exercising and protection of rights and freedoms of national minorities. With this aim the Committee cooperates with the competent government bodies and bodies of self government units, National minority councils, or representatives of national minorities, associations of national minorities and legal entities performing activities by means of which minority rights and freedoms are being exercised.

(2) The National Minorities Committee has the right to:

propose to bodies of the state authority to consider some issues of importance for the national minority, and particularly the implementation of this Constitutional act and special acts by means of which minority rights and freedoms have been regulated;

todraft measures for promotion of situation of national minority in the state or in some of its parts to the bodies of state power;

to give opinions and proposals onprogrammesof public radio and television aimed for national minorities, and on treatment of minority issues inprogrammesof public radio and television stations and other means of communication;

to propose the implementation of economic, social and other measures in the regions of traditionally or predominantly inhabited by national minorities in order to preserve their existence in that regions,

to request and obtain from the state authorities and authorities of the local and regional self-government data and reports necessary for considering issues from their scope;

(3) The National Minorities Committee cooperates in issues of interest for national minorities in theRepublicofCroatiawith the competent bodies of internationalorganisationsand institutions dealing with issues of national minorities, and competent bodies of parent countries of the members of national minorities in theRepublicofCroatia.

(4) The National Minorities Committee distributes the financial means being ensured in the state budget for the needs of national minorities. The users of the means submit to the Committee yearly reports on the expenditure of the means being remitted to them from the state budget, and the Committee report of the fact to the Government of Republic of Croatia and the Croatian Parliament (Sabor).

(5) If in a 90 days term from the adoption the state budget, the National Minorities Committee does not decide on distribution of the finances from sec.4.ofthis Article, the decision on it is being passed by the Government of Republic of Croatia.

V. THE SUPERVISION

Article 37

(1) The exercising of rights and freedoms of national minorities guaranteed by the Constitution, this Constitutional Act and special acts is being supervised by the bodies of the state administration, according to issues from their scope.

(2) The Government of theRepublicofCroatiacoordinates the work of the government administration bodies in the implementation of this Constitutional Act and special acts regulating the issues of importance for national minorities.

(3) At least once a year, the Government of the Republic of Croatia submits to the Croatian Parliament (Sabor) a report on the implementation of this Constitutional Act and on expenditure of means ensured in the state budget for the needs of national minorities, and the National Minorities Committee submits to the Croatian Parliament or some of its committees dealing with exercise of rights of national minorities a half year report on issues being the scope of work of the Committee and a quarterly report on expenditure of the means ensured in the state budget for the needs of national minorities.

Article 38

(1) The National Minority Councils or representatives of national minorities in the self-government unit can request from the competent body of the state administration to execute supervision over the implementation of this Constitutional Act and special acts regulating rights and freedoms of national minorities by the self-government units where they are established and to undertake measures for lawful acting of these bodies, on the fact of which the National minorities Committee is being informed, that must inform of its stand-point the National Minority Councils or the representative of national minority.

(2) The National Minority Council can request from the Government of theRepublicofCroatiato supervise the implementation of this Constitutional Act and special acts regulating the rights and freedoms of national minorities by the bodies of state administration and to undertake measures for lawful acting of these bodies.

(3) The National Minority Councils, or representatives of national minorities and the National Minority Committee have the right, in consistence with the provisions of the Constitutional Act on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, to file a constitutional complaint to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, if by their own evaluation or due to initiative of the members of national minority it is deemed that rights and freedoms of members of national minorities have been abused, that are guaranteed by the provisions of this Constitutional Act and special acts.