FRY

1. The Parties undertake to recognise that the right to freedom of expression of every person belonging to a national minority includes freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas in the minority language, without interference by public authorities and regardless of frontiers. The Parties shall ensure, within the framework of their legal systems, that persons belonging to a national minority are not discriminated against in their access to the media.

2. Paragraph 1 shall not prevent Parties from requiring the licensing, without discrimination and based on objective criteria, of sound radio and television broadcasting, or cinema enterprises.

3. The Parties shall not hinder the creation and the use of printed media by persons belonging to national minorities. In the legal framework of sound radio and television broadcasting, they shall ensure, as far as possible, and taking into account the provisions of paragraph 1, that persons belonging to national minorities are granted the possibility of creating and using their own media.

4. In the framework of their legal systems, the Parties shall adopt adequate measures in order to facilitate access to the media for persons belonging to national minorities and in order to promote tolerance and permit cultural pluralism.

1.1.The freedom of expression in FR Yugoslavia is widely guaranteed by the constitutional provisions. The Constitution of FR Yugoslavia by virtue of its Article 35 guarantees the freedom of conviction, thought and public expression of opinion. The receiving and providing information is also part of the freedom of expression and is guaranteed by Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Constitution of FR Yugoslavia, which provides for the right of citizens to express and publish their opinions in the mass media.

1.2.By virtue of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Constitution of FR Yugoslavia persons belonging to national minorities are guaranteed the right to public information in their own language. Accordingly, it is the obligation of the state to ensure information in the languages of minorities in the media outlets in its property, i.e. under its control. The Law on the Protection of Freedoms and Rights of National Minorities governs this subject matter in its Article 17, in that it lays down that persons belonging to national minorities shall have the right to full and impartial information in their own language, including the right to expressing, receiving, sending and exchanging information and ideas through the printed press and the other media and that the state shall secure in the programs of radio and television of the public service information, cultural and educational materials in the languages of national minorities, i.e. that it may start also special radio and TV stations to broadcast programming in the languages of national minorities. Public information in the languages of national minorities is regulated in more detail by the media laws of the Yugoslav federal units. The Broadcasting Law of the Republic of Serbia sets forth that for the purpose of pursing public interest in the field of the public broadcasting service, its institutions shall be under obligation to produce and broadcast programs intended for all segments of society, without discrimination and taking care at the same time of specific social groups such as national minorities, that they shall be obliged to take into account in appropriate proportions the linguistic standards of national minorities in the territory they cover with their broadcasts, as well as that they shall be obliged to secure that the needs of citizens for such programs which express the cultural identity of national minorities are met by enabling them to view or read certain programs or broadcasts in their mother tongue or script in the areas where they live and work (Article 78). The Law on Public Information of the Republic of Montenegro, in its Article 25, paragraphs 2 and 3, prescribes that the programming policy of a mass media outlet shall secure, in terms of volume, quality and contents, the exercise of the right of national minorities living in the Republic of Montenegro to public information in their own language.

1.3. Under the Constitution of FR Yugoslavia, the freedom of expression through the freedom of receiving and giving information is not envisaged exclusively for the mass media. On the contrary, the Constitution of FR Yugoslavia in its Article 36, paragraph 3, stipulates that the publication of newspapers and public dissemination of information by other media, and not only those of a public nature, shall be accessible to all, including persons belonging to national minorities. The above provision of the Constitution of FR Yugoslavia governs the freedom of creating and using the media, through which also the freedom of expression is manifested. This freedom in FR Yugoslavia is unimpededly exercised and, as a result, in addition to the mass media of a public nature, there is a large number of privately-owned newspapers, radio and TV stations.

1.4. Obstructing the exercise of the freedom of expression through exchange of information and ideas is prevented by Article 36, paragraph 3, of the Constitution of FR Yugoslavia, which specifies that no prior approval is required for the publication of newspapers and public dissemination of information by other media, after the registration with the competent authorities, which is free. Furthermore, on the basis of the unequivocal provision of Article 38, paragraph 1, of the Constitution of FR Yugoslavia, censorship of the press and of other forms of public information shall be prohibited. The distribution of the press or dissemination of other publications may be prevented only if it has been determined by a decision of a competent court that some of the conditions provided for by the Constitution of FR Yugoslavia had been met – if they call for the violent overthrow of the constitutional order or violation of the territorial integrity of FR Yugoslavia, if the press or other forms of public information violate the guaranteed freedoms and rights of man and the citizen, or foment national, racial or religious intolerance and hatred. The protection of the freedom of expression includes both the freedom of imparting and the freedom of receiving information.

1.5. Numerous national minorities in FR Yugoslavia enjoy the freedom of receiving information irrespective of the borders. All areas in FR Yugoslavia populated by national minorities may receive programming from the neighboring countries. Until recently, in certain municipalities inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities the broadcasts of domestic TV stations could unfortunately not be viewed. For that reason, the Federal Ministry of National and Ethnic Communities provided financial aid for the construction of a TV repeater in Bosilegrad and TV repeater in Priboj.

1.6. With respect to the freedom of expression through the freedom of receiving and imparting information the Constitutions of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro have provisions which are identical to the provision of the federal Constitution. The Constitution of FR Yugoslavia stipulates that, in the field of telecommunications, the regulation of technical and technological systems and systems of communications falls into the competencies of the Federation. On the basis of the constitutional arrangement which specifies that all the matters which under the Constitution of FR Yugoslavia do not fall into the competencies of the Federation, fall into the competencies of the federal units (the presumption of competence in favor of the federal unit), the field of information is governed by the relevant laws of member Republics. The laws on information of the Yugoslav federal units stipulate that all natural and legal persons shall have the right to take part in public information on equal terms, i.e. that the regulation of relations in the field of broadcasting shall be based on the principle of prohibition of discrimination (Article 5 of the Law on Public Information of the Republic of Montenegro and Article 3 of the Broadcasting Law of the Republic of Serbia). On the basis of the above arrangements, it is obvious that persons belonging to national minorities have access to the mass media without discrimination.

Information on the participation of minorities in editorial boards and councils on information will be forwarded at a later date.

The regulation of broadcasting of TV and radio programs in the Yugoslav Federation falls into the competencies of the federal units. The laws of the Yugoslav federal units provide for the establishment of radio and television stations subject to approval issued by the competent authority in charge of public information affairs. The approval refers only to special technical conditions related to the use of frequency bands and the meeting of minimum technical requirements for broadcasting radio or television programs. Thus regulated, the granting of approvals is in effect based on objective criteria, which makes it possible to grant approvals for broadcasting TV and radio programs without discrimination (Article 14, paragraph 2, of the Law on Public Information of the Republic of Montenegro and Articles 38 and 39 of the Broadcasting Law of the Republic of Serbia). In practice, approvals to persons belonging to national minorities have been granted without discrimination, and this is corroborated by the data on the number of private TV and radio stations which broadcast programs in minority languages. The broadcasting of radio and TV shows is subject to one more condition – that the programming policy may not be aimed at the violent overthrow of the constitutional order, or violation of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Montenegro and FR Yugoslavia, at violating the guaranteed freedoms and rights of man and the citizen or fomenting national, racial or religious intolerance or hatred (Article 24, paragraph 2, of the Law on Public Information of the Republic of Montenegro), i.e. may not be based on the speech of hatred (Articles 8 and 21 of the Broadcasting Law of the Republic of Serbia).

1.1. In the comment on the implementation of paragraph 1 of this Article it was pointed to the fact that persons belonging to national minorities have the same rights and opportunities in the domain of freedom of expression, i.e. imparting and receiving information as persons belonging to the majority population. The State does not hinder the creation and utilization of the press by persons belonging to national minorities. In practice, the creation and utilization of the press depends on economic power and is more developed in economically more prosperous areas. Persons belonging to different national minorities create and use the press to differing extents. The state supports the private press and this aid is the most sizeable with respect to the papers in the Roma language.

A majority of daily and information newspapers in the languages of national minorities is published in AP Vojvodina.

1.2. In the Hungarian language, apart from the daily ‘Magyar Szó’, whose founder is the Assembly of AP Vojvodina, the youth weekly ‘Képes Ifjúság’ and the children’s papers ‘Jó Pajtás’ and ‘Mézes kalács’, also the journal for culture, literature and arts ‘Híd’, the periodical for scientific and social issues ‘Létük’, the journal for reviews and arts ‘Uj Simpozon’, the bilingual magazine, in Hungarian and Serbian, for literature, arts and culture ‘Orbis’, the technical periodical collection ‘Hungarológiai kozlemények’, etc. are published at regular intervals. The most important weekly papers in the Hungarian language are ‘7 Nap’ and ‘Csaladi kor’. A large number of papers in the Hungarian language, relevant to municipalities and districts, are also published.

1.3.In the Slovak language, in addition to the information and political weekly ‘Hlas L'ud’, with the section for farmers ‘Pol'nohospodárske rozhl'ady’, the youth magazine ‘Vzlet’, the children’s magazine ‘Zornička’ and the family magazine ‘Rovina’ are published;

1.4.The papers published in the Ruthenian language are: the information and political weekly ‘Ruske slovo’, the youth magazine ‘MAK’, the children’s magazine ‘Zahradka’ and the journal for literature and culture ‘Švetloc’;

1.5.The papers published in the Romanian language are: ‘Libertatea’ – the information and political weekly whose founder is the Assembly of AP Vojvodina, (in time, it has become a separate publishing house), the magazines for children and youth ‘Bucuria copiilor’ and ‘Tribuna tineretului’, the magazine for culture and arts ‘Lumina’ and the technical journals ‘Traditia’, published by the Romanian Society for Ethnography and Folklore and ‘Ogledalo’/’Oglinda’/Mirror, published by the Cultural and Educational Community Sečanj. Some papers of local relevance are also published in the Romanian language - ‘Tibiscus’ in Uzdin, ‘Cuvantul romanesc’, the paper of the community of the Romanians in Yugoslavia, ‘Foaia Bobocilor’(in Novi Sad), ‘Foaia simiailui’ (in Lokvan), etc.

Newspapers in the languages of national minorities are published also in other parts of Serbia (so-called Serbia Proper).

1.6. The first paper in the Roma language was published in Belgrade back in 1939, and in the mid-seventies a number of newspapers was published in several regional centers. Today, publications in the Roma language are issued by the private publishing house ‘Romainterpress’ from Belgrade, which occasionally issues the paper ‘Romano lil’, the children’s magazine ‘Čhavrikano lil’ and the professional journal ‘Romologija’ and the Cultural and Publishing Society of the Roma in Novi Sad, which publishes the magazine for science and culture ‘Alav e Romengo’, and a little while ago the first issue of the magazine ‘Them’ was published in Kovin.

1.7. Persons belonging to the Bulgarian national minority, in addition to the newspaper ‘Bratstvo’ (Brotherhood), also have the magazine ‘Most’ (Bridge).

1.8. The Bosniacs/Moslems, apart from the paper ‘Sandžačke novine’ (The Sandzak Herald), the paper ‘Parlament’ and the magazine ‘Has’, can find information on regional, national and cultural events also in the literary magazine ‘Mak’. The Mashikhat of the Islamic community of Sandžak issues its own paper entitled ‘Glas islama’ (the Voice of Islam).

Newspapers and Magazines in Languages of National Minorities in FR Yugoslavia[1]

2. The electronic media whose founder is the state have departments for broadcasting in the languages of national minorities, and the most developed programming and editorial staff structure exists in RTV Novi Sad, which traditionally broadcasts programs in the Hungarian, Slovak, Roma, Romanian and Ruthenian languages. The private electronic media also broadcast programs in the languages of national minorities.

Language of broadcast radio and TV programs in FRY in 2000 in hours[3]

In addition to non-stop programs on Radio Novi Sad, radio programs in the Hungarian language are broadcast by another 22 local radio stations. According to the Programming Plan adopted on 22 February 2001 by the Programming Service and the Department for Program Planning and Coordination or RT Novi Sad, there are 865 broadcasts a year in the Hungarian language, in a total duration of 30,125 minutes. In the programming scheme, information broadcasts account for the major part (prime time news broadcast ‘Dnevnik’ every day 15 + 30 minutes a day, ‘Nasi dani’ 60 minutes a week) and shows dealing with culture (60 minutes a week). Two times a month broadcasts for farmer are aired, since farmers account for a considerable portion of the Hungarian population in AP Vojvodina.

Broadcasts in Slovak, Romanian and Ruthenian languages are part of the yearly programming scheme with 13,260 minutes in each language, with 15-minute daily prime time news shows on weekdays, two broadcasts with cultural and information-political content a week, and a 90-minute monthly live show in each language. For persons belonging to the above national minorities Radio Novi Sad broadcasts four hours of programs a day. According to a new programming scheme of 2001, Radio Television Serbia – Television Novi Sad broadcasts programs of various kinds in the Slovak language, predominantly news shows, up to 45 minutes a day. The editorial staff successfully cooperates with Bratislava Television. Local TV stations broadcasting in Slovak exist in Bački Petrovac, Vojlovica, and, as of late, Television Kovačica has been started, in Kovačica, the center of the Vojvodina Slovaks. Radio Novi Sad broadcasts shows in the Slovak language, as do eight local radio stations. TV Novi Sad broadcasts in Romanian a 15-minute daily news show, as well as specialized 1-hour weekly shows ‘Spectru’ (spectrum), ‘Objectiv TV’ (TV-Lens) and ‘Magazin TV’. Radio Novi Sad broadcasts 6 hours and 40 minutes of programs in the Romanian language every day.

Persons belonging to the Ukrainian national minority have 13 shows a year in a total duration of 650 minutes and one and a half hour a week of radio programs. The Programming Plan for 2001 envisaged that a show in Ukrainian be first broadcast once a week, and later on two times a month in the duration of 30 minutes.

The Department for Broadcasting in Croatian, established within RT Novi Sad in July 2001, has a thousand minutes of the programming scheme or 20 shows a year, and since October 2001, the Department for Broadcasting in the German language has been broadcasting programs. On the waves of Radio Subotica, every Friday from 9 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., members and supporters of the German Popular Alliance prepare a show in the German language.

Programs in the Roma language account for 14,760 minutes or 372 shows a year of the programming scheme of RT Novi Sad: every week 330 minutes of information and political, scientific and educational, as well as entertainment programs, a two and a half hours of radio program are broadcast every day in Novi Sad in the evening, and on Sundays four hours (the program –’Amen Ades’). Certain radio stations in Vojvodina broadcast programs in Roma (Odžaci, Sombor, Stara Pazova, Srbobran, Bela Crkva Kikinda, Radio 021 in Novi Sad, etc.) for one or two hours a week.

Chief Minority Languages in Which TV Novi Sad (Vojvodina) Broadcasts its Programs

In addition to the programming prepared and broadcast from the center in the capital of the Province (Novi Sad), programs in minority languages are prepared and broadcast also from the studios situated in various towns throughout Serbia.

Thus, for example, shows in the Roma language are broadcast through the entire network of RTV Serbia, as well as through the satellite network in total duration of 90 minutes a month. Among other things, there is the Roma Department in Radio Beograd which broadcast a 30-minute program on a daily basis. On Radio Nišava a non-stop program in the Roma language is broadcast every day. Radio KHFMO E-Romenjo also broadcasts programs in the Roma language. Television Kragujevac (a TV station of the local government), as well as Television Belami in Niš broadcast news shows every day.

Programs in the Albanian language before were broadcast from the regional center of Radio-Television Serbia in Priština and the programming scheme was very elaborated with news and political, cultural and entertaining, scientific, children’s and other shows broadcast in the language of the Albanian national minority. In the state-run media today there are no shows in Albanian, but in the Municipality of Bujanovac (in the south of central Serbia), two private radio stations ‘Toni’ and ‘Ema’ broadcast programs in the Albanian language. As of late, in the Municipality of Preševo, the state supported and secured assets for broadcasting radio programs in Albanian.

In the Bulgarian language a television program is broadcast by the local station ‘Caribrod’ from Dimitrovgrad, and there is also six hours of radio program a day. Also broadcasting in the Bulgarian language is Radio Bosilegrad (a radio station of the local government). Within Radio Niš as well a program in the Bulgarian language is broadcast. The television station Art vizija from Niš broadcasts programs in the Bulgarian language for 20 minutes a day, and once a week additional 30 minutes of program in the Bulgarian language is broadcast.

Shows in minority languages are also broadcast by numerous regional and local radio stations whose editorial policy and times of broadcasts are adjusted to the ethnic structure of the respective population. Thus, for example, the network of independent stations of Serbia broadcasts a daily show in the Roma language.

The programming policy of the mass media in FR Yugoslavia must not be aimed at inciting national, racial and religious intolerance and hatred (Article 24, paragraph 2, of the Law on Public Information of the Republic of Montenegro and Article 8 and 21 of the Broadcasting Law of the Republic of Serbia). The promotion of tolerance is not pursued solely by means of a prohibition of inciting intolerance and hatred toward national minorities through the media. In addition to enabling access to the mass media on the basis of the constitutionally guaranteed right to public information and constitutionally established freedom of creation of the mass media, FR Yugoslavia also envisaged through the Law on the Protection of Freedoms and Rights of National Minorities special arrangements to additionally facilitate access to the mass media for persons belonging to national minorities. Article 19, paragraph 7, of the Law on the Protection of Freedoms and Rights of National Minorities stipulates that a council of a national minority (a form of organization of minority self-governance described in the comment on Article …) shall represent a national minority, inter alia, in the field of information. Moreover, on the basis of the provision in paragraph 10 of the same Article, part of public powers in the field of information may be vested in the councils, and in such a case, the state earmarks resources necessary for the performance of such powers.

The Broadcasting Law of the Republic of Serbia, with a view to promoting tolerance and enabling cultural pluralism, laid down that through programs produced and broadcast within the public broadcasting service shall secure diversity and mutual agreement of contents in support of the democratic values of contemporary society, and in particular the respect for human rights and cultural, national, ethnic and political pluralism of ideas and opinions.

Article 10

1) The Parties undertake to recognise that every person belonging to a national minority has the right to use freely and without interference his or her minority language, in private and in public, orally and in writing.

2) In areas inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities traditionally or in substantial numbers, if those persons so request and where such a request corresponds to a real need, the Parties shall endeavour to ensure, as far as possible, the conditions which would make it possible to use the minority language in relations between those persons and the administrative authorities.

3) The Parties undertake to guarantee the right of every person belonging to a national minority to be informed promptly, in a language which he or she understands, of the reasons for his or her arrest, and of the nature and cause of any accusation against him or her, and to defend himself or herself in this language, if necessary with the free assistance of an interpreter.

1. The right of persons belonging to national minorities to use freely their language, in private and in public, orally or in writing, is laid down in Constitutions and other regulations.

The Constitution of FR Yugoslavia in its Article 11 recognizes and guarantees the right of national minorities to preservation, inter alia, of their linguistic peculiarity, and in Article 45, paragraph 1, it guarantees freedom of expression of national sentiments, culture and the use of one’s mother tongue and script. The above provisions alone, and especially in the context of all other constitutional arrangements (e.g. freedom of expression), in particular those applying to national minorities, clearly demonstrate that in Yugoslavia the freedom of the use of minority languages, orally and in writing, in private and in public, is guaranteed by the Constitution. It is particularly clear in light of the fact that the Constitution does not provide only for the use of minority languages and scripts in private and in public, but also the official use of minority languages and scripts.

The free use of one’s own mother tongue and script is guaranteed to citizens also by the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia (Article 49, paragraph 1) and the Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro (Article 68).

In its Article 10, the Law on the Protection of Freedoms and Rights of National Minorities stipulates that persons belonging to national minorities may freely use their own language and script, in private and in public. The above definition in its essence, and even in the wording, fully tallies with the arrangement referred to in the Framework Convention.

1. The Constitution of FR Yugoslavia in its Article 15 paragraph 1, stipulates that the Serbian language shall be in official use. However, minority languages in relations between persons belonging to national minorities and the administrative authorities in FR Yugoslavia are used on a very broad scale. The extent to which minority languages are used depends on the nature of relations between persons belonging to national minorities and the administrative authorities and on the type of a specific agency. The use of languages of national minorities in relations between persons belonging to national minorities and the administrative authorities largely surpasses standards enshrined in the Framework Convention. FR Yugoslavia recognizes the use of minority languages also in relations between persons belonging to national minorities and courts of law.

2. The Constitution of FR Yugoslavia in its Article 49 prescribes that everyone shall have the right to use his own language in proceedings before a court of law or other authority or organization which in the performance of their public powers decide on his rights and duties and in the course of these proceedings to be informed of the facts in his own language. The above provision of the Constitution of FR Yugoslavia enables persons belonging to national minorities to use their own language before agencies and organizations which in the performance of their public powers decide on their rights and duties irrespective of whether proceedings are conducted in the areas inhabited by national minorities traditionally or in substantial numbers. Accordingly, also in areas not inhabited by national minorities, persons belonging to national minorities have the right to use their own language in proceedings before a court of law or an administrative authority and to be informed of the facts in their own language. In the Republic of Serbia, the use of one’s mother tongue in proceedings before courts and the administrative authorities is regulated by Article 16 of the Law on the Official Use of Language and Script. That Article specifies that courts and the administrative authorities with which persons belonging to national minorities exercise their rights and discharge their duties shall be obliged to ensure that persons belonging to national minorities, in proceedings conducted with these agencies and organizations in the Serbian language, may use their language and script, file requests, appeals, complaints, proposals, representations and other submissions in their own language, and receive, at their request, rulings, verdicts or other enactments deciding on their rights and duties in their own language, as well as certificates, reports, receipts and other documents. Furthermore, under Article 17 of the Law on the Official Use of Language and Script, at the request of a person belonging to a national minority who is a party to the proceedings, the transcript of judicial or administrative proceedings may be translated into the language of the national minority, at the expense of the state. Separate laws on specific types of judicial proceedings regulate in greater detail the right to use one’s mother tongue in judicial proceedings conducted in the official Serbian language.

3.1. The Constitution of FR Yugoslavia in its Article 15, paragraph 2, prescribes that in the areas inhabited by national minorities in official use, in addition to the Serbian language, also the languages and scripts of national minorities. The official use of language and script is more specifically governed by laws. The Constitution of the Republic of Serbia provides for the identical arrangement in respect of official use of the languages and scripts of national minorities. The Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro in its Article 9, paragraph 3, directly regulates the official use of the languages and scripts of national minorities, in that it specifies that in local self-government units where persons belonging to national minorities constitute the majority or a sizeable portion of the population a minority language and script shall be in official use.

The federal Law on the Protection of Freedoms and Rights of National Minorities lays down objective criteria for the introduction of the languages and scripts of national minorities into official use.

In its Article 11, the Law on the Protection of Freedoms and Rights of National Minorities sets forth that in the territory of a local self-government unit where persons belonging to national minorities traditionally live, their language and script may be in equal official use. On the basis of that arrangement, units of local self-governments are free to introduce the language and script of a national minority into official use. The Law leaves such decision to the units of local self-government in the territories traditionally inhabited by minorities. Such arrangement, under which local self-government units independently decide on the official use of the languages and scripts of national minorities, is provided for also by Article 11 of the Law on the Official Use of Language and Script of the Republic of Serbia. The Law on the Official Use of Language and Script of the Republic of Serbia has not defined the criteria to be taken into account by local self-government units when deciding which other language apart from Serbian will be in official use. This shortcoming resulted in different solutions to this issue applied in different units of local self-government. The Law on the Protection of Freedoms and Rights of National Minorities provides for a solution to rectify the described shortcoming. Article 11, paragraph 2, of the Law on the Protection of Freedoms and Rights of National Minorities lays down that a local self-government unit shall be obliged to introduce into equal official use the language and script of a national minority, if persons belonging to that national minority account for 15 or more percent of the total population in its territory according to the most recent census. In order to ensure the protection of already acquired rights, the Law on the Protection of Freedoms and Rights of National Minorities specifies that the language of a national minority shall remain in official use in a local self-government unit where it was in official use at the time of the adoption of the Law, irrespective of the percentage of persons belonging to national minorities in the total population of that local self-government unit. The Law on the Official Use of Language and Script lays down that proceedings may be conducted in the languages of national minorities also before a court of law, an agency or organization set up for an area including several local self-government units, provided that a language of a national minority is in official use in at least one of these local self-government units. The Law on the Official Use of Language and Script provides for a range of supplemental arrangements by means of which it is very precisely determined in which cases the languages and scripts of national minorities may be used. In a case where only one party to proceedings is a person belonging to a national minority, such proceedings, at his request, are conducted in the language of the national minority which is in official use in the court, agency or organization conducting the proceedings. Where there are several parties to proceedings, whose languages are not the same, the proceedings are conducted in one of those languages, which is in official use in the court, agency or organization conducting the proceedings, upon which the parties agree. If the parties fail to agree upon the language of the proceedings, the language of the proceedings will be determined by the agency or organization before which the proceedings are conducted, unless one of the parties requests that the proceedings be conducted in the Serbian language, in which case the proceedings will be conducted in that language.

3.2.1. The Law on the Protection of Freedoms and Rights of National Minorities lists certain manifestations of the official use of language and script. By virtue of Article 11, paragraph 4, that Law stipulates that, in particular, the official use of the languages and scripts of national minorities shall be considered to be the use of the languages of national minorities in administrative suits and judicial proceedings and conducting administrative and judicial proceedings in the language of a national minority, the use of the language of a national minority in communication between agencies with public powers and citizens; issuing identification papers and keeping official records and personal databases in the languages of national minorities, as well as acceptance of those papers in those languages as valid, the use of languages in ballot papers and voting material, the use of languages in the work of representative bodies. The Law on the Official Use of Language and Script of the Republic of Serbia also stipulates what is to be considered official use of the languages and scripts of national minorities. By virtue of the provision of Article 2 of that Law, the official use of the languages and scripts of national minorities in the work of government agencies, organs of the autonomous provinces, cities and municipalities, institutions, enterprises and other organizations when performing public powers (organizations performing public powers), in the operation of public enterprises and public services, as well as in the work of other organizations, when they perform tasks laid down by that law.

3.2.2. Certain manifestations of the official use of the languages and scripts of national minorities are governed by special regulations. The laws on specific types of judicial proceedings regulate the conduct of judicial proceeding in the languages of national minorities in official use. Thus, for instance, the Law on Litigation prescribes that proceedings shall be conducted in the mother tongue of a person belonging to a national minority in areas where the languages of national minorities are in official use (Article 6). In line with the above arrangement, a court is under obligation to secure an interpreter in a lawsuit and cover his expenses, as well as the costs of the translation of summons, decisions and other court documents (Articles 102 to 105 of the Law on Litigation). Preventing an official body to conduct proceedings in the mother tongue of a person belonging to a national minority is considered a serious violation of due process which can result in a mistrial or a retrial.

The Law on the Election of Deputies of the Republic of Serbia, in its Article 60, paragraph 6, stipulates that in municipalities where the languages of national minorities are in official use, ballot papers shall be printed in those languages as well, and electoral bodies in those municipalities shall be under obligation to print minutes on the work of the polling committees also in the languages of national minorities (Article 76, paragraph 2). Consequently, for elections of deputies to the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia ballot papers and other appropriate electoral materials are printed in the Serbian language and Cyrillic script, and for the areas of the Republic where national minorities live, ballot papers, consolidated slates of candidates and minutes on the work of polling committees are printed in the Serbian language and Cyrillic script, and below that, in the languages of national minorities in official use in municipalities where persons belonging to national minorities live. The federal electoral legislation does not specifically stipulate that ballot papers are to be printed in the languages of national minorities, but leave to the Federal Electoral Committee to more specifically prescribe the form and appearance of ballot papers Article 63, paragraph 4, of the Law on the Election of Federal Deputies to the Chamber of Citizens of the Federal Assembly, Article 67, paragraph 6, of the Law on the Election of Federal Deputies to the Chamber of the Republics of the Federal Assembly). Ballot papers for federal elections are also printed in the languages of national minorities. An identical arrangement, under which the form and appearance of ballot papers is to be more specifically prescribed by the Electoral Committee is provided for by Article 74, paragraph 1, of the Law on the Election of Deputies and Councilors of the Republic of Montenegro. In elections held so far in Montenegro, ballot papers have not been printed in the languages of national minorities.

4. Except in court and administrative procedures, the official and public use of the languages of national minorities in FR Yugoslavia has several other forms as well.

4.1. The Law on the Publication of Federal Regulations and By-Laws, in article 4, sets the obligation for federal regulations, international agreements and Yugoslav standards also to be published, as authentic texts, in the languages of the Albanian and Hungarian national minorities. Unlike the federal law, the Law on the Publication of Laws and Other Regulations and By-Laws and on the Issuing of the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia does not envisage the possibility of by-laws being published in minority languages at the level of the Republic of Serbia. This Law stipulates that a regulation or other act is published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia as the text prepared by the submitter of the act, which actually means that it is published only in the Serbian language. The presented solutions in the federal and republican laws are in major and unjustified contradiction.

4.2. The Law on Primary School, Secondary School and Two-Year Post-Secondary School (article 129, paragraph 2 of the Law on Primary School, article 99, paragraph 3 and article 100, paragraph 5 of the Law on Secondary School, and article 47, paragraph 5 of the Law on Two-Year Post-Secondary School) stipulates that school records are kept in the language of a national minority, when lessons are taught in the language of the national minority. School ID is also issued in the language of the national minority, when classes are held in the language of the national minority.

In the same spirit is also article 122 of the new Law on the University of the Republic of Serbia (2002) stating that, when classes are held in the language of a national minority, the register of students and records on issued diplomas are kept, apart from the Serbian language and the Cyrillic script, also in the language and script of the national minority. At the same time, it is specified (article 122, paragraph 10) that, when lectures at the university, i.e. faculty are held in the language of a national minority, public documents (matriculation book, diploma on university education, on acquiring the professional title of specialist, the academic title of Master of Arts, the scientific level of doctor and the certificate on the completion of professional education and training) are issued on bilingual forms – in the Serbian language and Cyrillic script and in the language and script in which classes are held (i.e. the minority language). Also, Laws on Primary School (article 126, paragraph 5) and on Secondary School (article 116, paragraph 4) of the Republic of Montenegro stipulate that bilingual report cards are issued in schools where classes are held in the Albanian language.

4.3. The Law on the Identity Card of the Republic of Serbia states that the forms for identity cards are printed in the Serbian language and “other languages of nations and nationalities to which the Constitution guarantees the equality of use of the language”. The data in the identity card are written in the languages of the nations and nationalities in accordance with the law (article 20). The Law on the Identity Card of the Republic of Montenegro does not envisage such a possibility.

4.4. A special form of the public use of a minority language is related to the right of citizens to submit to state and other bodies, organizations and officials memorandums, petitions and proposals and to receive responses to them, if they so request, which is stipulated by the Constitution of FR Yugoslavia. Stating the mentioned right, article 44 of the Constitution of FR Yugoslavia does not say in which language the citizens will submit memorandums, petitions and proposals, i.e. in which language they will receive responses to them. The Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National minorities, in article 11, paragraph 7, states that persons belonging to national minorities, whose number in the total population of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia accounts for a minimum of 2%, according to the latest population census, can address federal bodies in their own language and have the right to receive a response in that language.

4.5. The Law on the Seal of State and Other Bodies of the Republic of Serbia envisages that the text on the seal of bodies in the autonomous province and bodies of certain territorial units in the autonomous province is written in the Serbian language and in the Cyrillic script, and it can also be written out in the Latin script and the language and script of national minorities, in accordance with the law. The presented solution, envisaged by article 3 of the Law on the Seal of State and Other Bodies of the Republic of Serbia narrows down the use of the language and script of national minorities on seals of units of local self-government located in the territory of AP Kosovo and Metohija and AP Vojvodina. The Law on the Seal of the Republic of Montenegro and the Seals of State Bodies does not envisage the possibility of the use of the languages and scripts of national minorities on seals of units of local self-government.

5.1. The official use of the language of minorities in FR Yugoslavia is widespread. The Statute of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, where the largest number of minorities live, in article 19, paragraph 4, envisages the official use of the Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian and Ruthenian languages and their scripts, together with the Serbian language [5].

5.2. Using the right independently to establish the official use of the language and script of national minorities, 38 out of a total of 45 Vojvodina municipalities have introduced the official use of minority languages, apart from the Serbian language. Namely, in the territory of AP Vojvodina, in 20 municipalities, apart from the Serbian language, in official use is also one language of a national minority, in 11 municipalities, together with Serbia, there are 2 more languages of national minorities in official use, while in 6 municipalities and the city of Novi Sad in official use is the Serbian language and 3 languages of national minorities.

Therefore, in the territory of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, in official use are 6 languages of national minorities, as follows:

The oral and written addressing of municipal bodies in languages of national minorities has been ensured in AP Vojvodina through the establishment of a translating service in 8 municipalities and the city of Novi Sad (the capital of Vojvodina), and in 15 municipalities, employees working with clients are able to communicate in the languages of national minorities. In 4 municipalities of AP Vojvodina, apart from the establishment of translating services, the employees are also trained to communicate in minority languages.

The conduct of procedures for the exercise and protection of rights in the languages of national minorities is ensured through the establishment of translating services in 7 municipalities and in Novi Sad, and in 17 municipalities these jobs are provided through the training of the employees to conduct procedures in the languages of minorities. In 2 municipalities, both forms of communication with persons belonging to national minorities are possible, and in one, the mother tongue of the employees working on these jobs is the minority language. In the first three-months of 2000, in three Vojvodina municipalities less than 20 procedures were conducted in the languages of national minorities, in one there were 120 procedures, and in as many as 26 municipalities and in the provincial capital no such procedures were conducted.

Public and other personal documents are issued by administrative bodies in the territory of AP Vojvodina in the languages of national minorities in 16 municipalities. In 17 municipalities, public calls, information and warnings are announced and other public notices are written in the languages of national minorities. In one municipality and in the city of Novi Sad, public calls, information and warnings are announced in the languages of national minorities, while in 3 municipalities, it is only public calls and information that are published in this manner. Public calls, information and warnings are not announced and other public notices are not written in the languages of national minorities in 4 municipalities in the territory of Vojvodina.

Regulations pertaining to municipal councils (local parliaments) are published official gazettes in the languages of national minorities in 10 municipalities, while this is not the usual practice in 18 municipalities and in Novi Sad.

Within a far lesser scope and in a smaller number of minority languages, the official use of the languages of national minorities is present, to a certain degree, in other parts of the Republic of Serbia (Central Serbia) as well, such as, for instance in the municipalities of Dimitrovgrad and Bosilegrad, where the Bulgarian language is in official use, i.e. the municipalities of Bujanovac and Preševo in which the Albanian language is in official use.

5.3. The official use of the language and script of national minorities is applied in Montenegro as well, but only in relation to persons belonging to the Albanian national minority, and this exclusively at the local level, in municipalities with a considerable percentage of this minority within the population. The official use of the language and script of national minorities in Montenegro is not regulated by a special law, but is rather applied on the basis of the constitutional provision stating that languages and scripts of national minorities will be in official use in the municipalities where persons belonging to minorities constitute a majority, or a considerable part of the population. On the basis of the mentioned constitutional provision, among minority languages, Albanian is in official use in the municipality of Ulcinj in which persons belonging to this minority constitute the majority population. In judicial practice, the use of the languages of national minorities is not permitted, but it is permitted to have a sworn-in court translators interpret for persons who do not understand the Serbian language.

1. The Constitution of FR Yugoslavia, in article 23, paragraph 3, specifies that everyone deprived of his/her liberty must immediately be informed about the reasons for the deprivation of his/her liberty in his/her own language or a language he/she understands.

In the same manner, the Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro, in article 22, paragraph 2, contains a provision according to which a person deprived of his/her liberty must immediately be informed about the reasons for being deprived of his/her freedom, in his/her language or a language he/she understands.

2. The federal Law on the Criminal Procedure, in article 7, stipulates that the procedure is conducted in the language in official use in court, and that the parties, witnesses and other persons participating in the procedure have the right, during the performing of investigative activities or other court activities or at the main hearing, to use their own language. If the court procedure or main hearing is not conducted in the language of that person, provided will be the interpretation of what this person or other persons are saying, as well as the translation of personal documents and other written evidence material.

The translation, in the sense of the Law, is done by a court-sworn translator, and the costs of the translation are borne by the responsible state body. The deprivation of the defendant, defense attorney, damaged party, prosecutor or private plaintiff of using their own language at the main hearing and of following the main hearing in their own language, contrary to their will, is considered a serious violation of the criminal procedure which could lead to the revocation of the court ruling of the first instance and the reopening of the criminal procedure.

1. The Parties undertake to recognize that every person belonging to a national minority has the right to use his or her surname (patronym) and first names in the minority language and the right to official recognition of them, according to modalities provided for in their legal system.

2. The Parties undertake to recognize that every person belonging to a national minority has the right to display in his or her minority language signs, inscriptions and other information of a private nature visible to the public.

3. In areas traditionally inhabited by substantial numbers of persons belonging to a national minority, the Parties shall endeavor, in the framework of their legal system, including, where appropriate, agreements with other States, and taking into account their specific conditions, to display traditional local names, street names and other topographical indications intended for the public also in the minority language when there is a sufficient demand for such indications.

1. The right to use one’s own surname and name in the minority language is included, in general terms, in the presented constitutional norms guaranteeing the freedom of the use of minority languages (mentioned in the comment on the implementation of article 10, paragraph 1). Apart from this, the said right is additionally guaranteed by special regulations.

Thus, in the Republic of Serbia, article 20 of the Law on the Identity Card stipulates, among other things, that the data in the form for the identity card (meaning the name of the person to whom the identity card is issued) are written in the languages of national minorities in accordance with the law.

The Law on the Personal Name of the Republic of Montenegro says that persons belonging to national minorities have the right to enter their personal name in the register of births in their own script.

2. This right, however, is separately guaranteed by the federal Law on the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities.

Article 9 of this Law stipulates that persons belonging to national minorities have the right to the free choice and use of their personal name and the names of their children, as well as to enter these personal names into public personal documents, official records and collections of personal data in accordance with the language and orthography of the person belonging to the national minority. This right, however, does not rule out the parallel entry of the name according to the Serbian orthography and script as well. The presented solution provides for the official recognition of the use of names and surnames in a minority language.

3. In the Republic of Serbia, the personal name of a person belonging to a national minority is entered in the register of births first in the Serbian language, in the Cyrillic script, and then it is written in brackets in the language of the national minority. At the end of 2000, the provincial Parliament of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina adopted the Decision on the issuing of multi-lingual birth certificates and on the manner of being entered in registers of births, stating that, at their explicit request, birth certificates are issued to persons belonging to national minorities in a bilingual form, printed in both the Serbian language and one of the languages in official use. Bilingual forms are made with parallel columns in the Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Ruthenian, Czech and Croatian language and, part from the Serbian language, data are also entered in them in the language and according to the orthography of the national minority.

1. The Yugoslav legal system recognizes the right of persons belonging to minorities the right to display in their minority language signs, inscriptions and other information of a private nature visible to the public. This right stems from the constitutional provisions guaranteeing the freedom of the use of one’s own language and script. This right is exercised broadly and without any hindrances in practice.

2. The Law on the Official Use of the Language and Script of the Republic of Serbia, in article 20, stipulates that the names of companies, institutions and other legal entities, regardless of their form of property, as well as of private stores are also written in the language of the national minority which is in official use in the unit of local self-government where the seat of this entity is located. The name can also be written in the language of the national minority which is in official use in the place where business is conducted.

1. The Yugoslav legal system explicitly treats the writing of traditional local names, the names of streets and other topographic indications as a form of the official use of the languages of national minorities. The Law on the Official Use of the Language and Script of the Republic of Serbia, in article 19, states that written in the language of minorities in official use are the names of places and other geographic names, the names of streets and squares, names of bodies and organizations, traffic signs, information and warnings for the public and other public inscriptions. The names of places, squares and streets, bodies, organizations and companies are written in the languages of the national minorities in the territory of the Republic of Serbia in all units of local self-government where minority languages are in official use (see comment on the implementation of article 10, paragraph 2 of the Framework Convention).

2. The provision of article 7 of the Law on the Official Use of the Language and Script of the Republic of Serbia does not allow geographic names and personal names contained in public inscriptions to be replaced by other names, i.e. indications, but rather stipulates that they are written in the languages of minorities in accordance with their orthography. An interpretation of such a provision leads to the conclusion that official geographic names and personal names contained in public inscriptions in the Serbian language cannot be replaced by names from minority languages (even if these names are traditional), but rather only the use of the orthography of minority languages is allowed. In its practice, the Constitutional Court of Serbia confirms such an interpretation. In three of its decisions on January 25, 2001, the Constitutional Court of Serbia adopted the stand that the provision of article 7 of the Law on the Official Use of the Language and Script does not allow the replacement of geographic names with original names in languages of national minorities, and from the legal formulation that names are written in the languages of national minorities in accordance with the orthography of this language, it is to be concluded that the possibility of translating geographic names is also ruled out (Decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia IU-111/93, IU 64/94 and IU 350/93). The Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities correct the previous solution, stipulating, in article 11, paragraph 5, that in units of local self-government, where a minority language is in official use, the names of organizations performing public duties, the names of units of local self-government, inhabited places, squares and streets and other toponyms are written in the language of the national minority which is in official use “according to its tradition and orthography”.

1. The Parties shall, where appropriate, take measures in the fields of education and research to foster knowledge of the culture, history, language and religion of their national minorities and of the majority.

2. In this context the Parties shall inter alia provide adequate opportunities for teacher training and access to textbooks, and facilitate contacts among students and teachers of different communities.

3. The exercise of this right shall not entail any financial obligation for the Parties.

1. The Federal Constitution and the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia contain no specific provisions on measures that are to be taken for the purpose of fostering the culture, history, language and religion of national minorities in the fields of education and research. The Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro, in article 71, specifies: “The curricula of educational institutions also include the history and cultural of national and ethnic groups.”

In Serbia, the study of elements of the national cultures of national minorities is envisaged by relevant provisions of corresponding educational laws, like for instance article 5 paragraph 4 of the Law on Primary School, or article 27 paragraph 6 of the Law on Secondary School, stipulating that it is to be made possible for pupils belonging to national minorities to cover the curriculum and program for their mother tongue with elements of the national culture, when classes are held in the Serbian language.[6]

2. In regard to the implementation of this article of the Framework Convention, it is necessary to point to the provisions of the most important regulation pertaining to this matter – the federal Law on the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities. Regulating the schooling of persons belonging to national minorities, in article 13 paragraphs 5 – 7, the Law stipulates:

· that the curriculum for the education of persons belonging to national minorities, in the part referring to national elements, will contain, to a large extent, topics related to the history, art and culture of the national minority;

· that national councils of the national minority must participate in putting together the curriculum for lessons in subjects expressing the specificity of national minorities in the language of the national minorities, for bilingual classes and the studying of the language of national minorities with elements of the national culture;

· that, for the purpose of promoting tolerance towards national minorities, the curriculum and program of instruction in educational institutions and schools with classes in the Serbian language should also include teaching material containing knowledge about the history, cultural and position of national minorities, as well as other issues promoting mutual tolerance and joint life;

· that in the territories where the language of a national minority is in official use, the curriculum and program of instruction in educational institutions and schools where the teaching language is Serbian should contain the possibility of studying the language of a national minority.

The most important form of measures for fostering the culture and language of national minorities in primary and secondary education is the holding of all the classes in minority languages (see comment on the implementation of article 14 of the Framework Convention). In environments where classes are held only in the Serbian language, pupils whose mother tongue is not Serbian have an optional subject »Mother Tongue with Elements of the National Culture«, for 2 lessons a week, from the first to the eighth grade (meaning throughout primary education). Persons belonging to minorities took active part in the preparation of curricula and plans for this subject. Also of importance for fostering the culture and language of national minorities in the education process are special textbooks intended for pupils belonging to national minorities, ‘Instructions about Language ‘ (‘Pouke o jeziku’) is the textbook published in the Serbian language, but intended for pupils from minority communities. Also prepared for each minority community has been the textbook ‘Additional Material’ (‘Dopunski sadrzaji’) for lessons in the subject ‘Mother Tongue with Elements of the National Culture’ which contains elements of the national culture: additional material from the history of the national minority, as well as material related to the music and fine arts of national minorities. Furthermore, special attention is devoted to the fostering of the history of national minorities. Textbooks for the school subject of history largely contain teaching material related to the history of national minorities and their mother states. Pupils belonging to the Albanian, Turkish, Romanian, Ruthenian, Hungarian and Slovak minorities have the possibility of obtaining broader education at additional classes devoted to national history. Also important for fostering the languages of national minorities are competitions in the mother tongue which are organized for pupils belonging to national minorities in the Republic of Serbia by the Ministry of Education. The fostering of the religion of national minorities is ensured through religious teaching (see comment on the implementation of article 8 of the Framework Convention). It is important to point out that textbooks for religious teaching are translated into the languages of minority communities.

4.1. In the field of university education, the most effective measures for fostering the culture, history and languages of national minorities which the state has undertaken are the opening of special departments at which national languages and literatures are studied. All the languages spoken by national minorities in FR Yugoslavia are studied at the Faculties of Philology and Philosophy in the Republic of Serbia. Studied at the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade are the Bulgarian language and literature, Slovak language and literature, Romanian language and literature, Turkish language and literature, Oriental philology, the Albanian langue and literature, the Hungarian language and literature and the Ukrainian language and literature. At the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, studied are: the Hungarian language and Literature, Slovak language and literature, Ruthenian language and literature and Romanian language and literature. Studied at the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš are Slavic studies with Balkan studies.

4.2. In the field of research, the state is assisting a series of scientific projects focusing on the study of the culture, language, history and religion of national minorities. The Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Serbia finances two extremely important long-lasting scientific projects – »Ethno-Linguistic and Socio-Linguistic Study of Multi-Ethnic Communities in the Balkans« being implemented by the Institute of Balkan Studies of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and »Cultural, Linguistic and Literal Patterns of Minority National Communities« being implemented by the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad.

Certain research activities have been institutionalized. Within the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts there is a Commission studying the life and customs of the Roma. The Commission was formed already in 1988 and with constant financial difficulties[7], it has managed to organize several important scientific gatherings devoted to the Roma national minority (three international gatherings) which were followed by the publication of special collections of works from these gatherings. Also operating within the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the Inter-departmental Committee for studying minorities and human rights and the Ethnographic Institute. The Ethnographic Institute is a fundamental scientific institution carrying out studies of all segments of the culture of the Serbian people and national minorities in FRY. The Ethnographic Institute and the Inter-departmental Committee were the leading agencies in several scientific projects and organized several scientific conferences devoted to national minorities (particularly important among them being the international conference ‘The Status of Minorities in FRY’). As part of international scientific cooperation, the SANU Ethnographic Institute and the Inter-departmental Committee have worked together with Academies of Arts and Sciences of Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Within that cooperation, scientific research was carried out into the culture and customs of the Hungarians, Slovaks and Ruthenians, and recently of the Bulgarian minority in eastern Serbia and the Romanians in Vojvodina.

1.1. The Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities, in article 14, stipulates that, for the needs of education in the languages of national minorities, departments and faculties would be ensured within post-secondary and high education, where teachers of the languages of national minorities and other teachers and instructors would be educated in the languages of national minorities, or bilingually.

A provision from paragraph 2 of the same article of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities stipulates that, apart from the mentioned post-secondary and university education, the faculty will organize instructorship in the languages of national minorities, where students belonging to national minorities will be able to master professional terms in the language of the national minority as well.

Provisions from paragraphs 3 and 4 of the same article establish additional obligations of the state in this field by specifying that it would assist the professional and terminological training of teachers for the needs of education in languages of national minorities, i.e. that it would stimulate international cooperation with the aim of making it possible for persons belonging to national minorities to study abroad in their mother tongue and to have such diplomas recognized in line with the law.

1.2. The education of personnel to work in minority languages in pre-school institutions is performed in special two-year post-secondary pedagogical schools in which classes are held in minority languages as well. The post-secondary school for educating teachers who hold classes in minority languages are: the Post-Secondary School in Novi Sad (classes are held in the Serbian and Hungarian languages), Post-Secondary School in Subotica (classes are held in the Serbian and Hungarian languages) and the Post-Secondary School in Vršac (classes are held in the Serbian and Romanian languages).

The education of teachers for holding classes in minority languages in lower grades of primary education (I-IV grades of primary school) is performed at the Teachers' Faculty in Sombor and at its departments. The Teachers' Faculty in Sombor educates teachers to work in the Ruthenian language, while the Subotica Department of the Sombor-based Teachers’ Faculty educates teachers to hold classes in the Hungarian language, and the Department in Bački Petrovac educates personnel for teaching the Slovak language. The Department of the Belgrade-based Teacher’s Faculty in Vršac educates students to acquire the title of teacher in the Romanian language. There is no education for teachers to work in the Albanian language.

The education of teachers in higher grades is performed within post-secondary and university education. Apart from the departments and instructorships for studying the language and literature, it is important to point out that persons in FR Yugoslavia belonging to minorities also have the possibility of studying other sciences in their mother tongue, thus also acquiring the qualifications for holding classes in minority languages in higher grades of primary school and in secondary school. The possibilities for persons belonging to national minorities to study in their languages are presented in greater detail in the comment to the implementation of article 14 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Students belonging to national minorities, who complete studies in natural or social sciences in the Serbian language, can teach n secondary schools where classes are conducted in their mother tongue.

1.3. Adequate possibilities for the training of teachers are also envisaged by programs of cooperation between the Federal Government of FR Yugoslavia and the governments of the mother states of certain national minorities living in FR Yugoslavia in the fields of education, culture, youth and sports. The program of cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Slovakia stipulates that the Slovak side will accept every year 30 teachers of kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools with classes in the Slovak language for professional language courses lasting 14 days. The program of cooperation in the fields of education, science and culture between the Federal Government of FR Yugoslavia and the Government of Romania stipulates that the two sides will accept professors of the Romanian language and other subjects taught in that language in FR Yugoslavia, i.e. of the Serbian language and other subjects taught in this language in Romania, for the purpose of attending courses for additional training in another country or for the exchange of experiences in educational institutions. The two sides will accept teachers and professors of the Romanian, i.e. Serbian language for the purpose of teaching in educational institutions for national minorities from another country. The program between the Federal Government of FR Yugoslavia and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria on cooperation in the fields of education, science and culture envisages that the Bulgarian side will offer the possibility of advance training in the Bulgarian language, literature and other disciplines taught to pupils belonging to the Bulgarian national minority in FR Yugoslavia in schools where the Bulgarian language in studied. The Bulgarian side has expressed the desire to send teachers and instructors of the Bulgarian language, literature, history, music and other disciplines to schools where the Bulgarian language is taught in FR Yugoslavia.

1.4. National cultural and educational associations often organize gatherings and seminars for the additional training of teachers belonging to national minorities. The state sponsored such gatherings on a number of occasions. Due to the lack of educational personnel, of special importance are the gatherings of Roma teachers organized by the Roma Central Cultural and Publishing Society of Yugoslavia (»Matica Romska Jugoslavije«).

1.5. The success achieved in the training of teachers is best illustrated by statistical data. According to the national composition of two-year post-secondary schools in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, the part of the state with the largest number of minorities, teachers and associates belonging to the Hungarian national minority account for 7.86% of total educational personnel. The teachers and associates in post-secondary schools in AP Vojvodina include persons belonging to other national minorities as well – 5% of the total number of teachers and associates belong to the Romanian national minority, 2.14% are Slovaks, 1.43% are Croats, while Bulgarians account for 0.71%. Out of the total number of teachers and associates at faculties of the University in Novi Sad, Hungarians account for 8.27%, Croats for 2.57%, Slovaks for 1.29%, Ruthenians for 1.01%, and Romanians for 0.34%, while other nationalities (except Serbs and Montenegrins of whom there are 73.4% together), and the undecided account for 4.42%. The presented data also clearly attest to contacts among pupils, i.e. students and professors belonging to different national communities in AP Vojvodina.

The data on the national composition of teaches in secondary and primary schools, as well as data for the rest of the country would be subsequently forwarded.

2.1. Access to textbooks is dealt with by special regulations. Thus, article 4, paragraph 3 of the Law on Textbooks and Other Teaching Aids of the Republic of Serbia explicitly stipulates that textbooks are also published in the languages of national minorities for pupils for whom educational work is organized in the languages of national minorities as well. The act of the minister of education approving the manuscript of the textbook to be published also contains the decision on the language and script in which the textbook is to be published (article 17 of the Law on Textbooks and Other Teaching Aids of the Republic of Serbia).

2.2. Official textbooks for the primary and secondary school in FR Yugoslavia are published by responsible institutions – the Institute for Textbooks and Teaching Aids. The Institute for Textbooks and Teaching Aids of the Republic of Serbia has its department in Novi Sad which is in charge of preparing and publishing textbooks for most of the national minorities living in FR Yugoslavia (Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Ruthenian and Roma), while the Institute’s department in Belgrade prepares and publishes textbooks in the Albanian, Turkish and Bulgarian languages. So far, the Institute for Textbooks and Teaching Aids of the Republic of Serbia has issued an enormous number of titles in minority languages which, in most cases, satisfy the needs of education in languages of national minorities in primary and secondary education. A special problem are textbooks and teaching aids in the Roma language.

Apart from textbooks, an important publishing activity of the Institute is the publication of the required reading and major works in minority languages.

2.3. The programs of cultural and educational cooperation with certain states envisage special measures of importance for accessing textbooks. The program of cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria envisages that the Bulgarian side will place additional school reading and literature in the Bulgarian language at the disposal of school libraries in schools where the Bulgarian language is studied and will offer assistance in the writing of textbooks in the Bulgarian language for these schools, in line with the school programs established by Yugoslav bodies, for the education of children belonging to the Bulgarian national minority in FR Yugoslavia. The program of cooperation in the fields of education, science and culture between the Federal Government of FR Yugoslavia and the Government of Romania stipulates that cooperation in the sphere of education will also be conducted through the exchange of school and university textbooks, books and magazines.

1. In FR Yugoslavia, equal access to education at all levels is ensured for everyone. This is already stated in constitutional and other norms guaranteeing equality before the law.

Apart from that, in article 62, the Constitution of FR Yugoslavia explicitly states that schooling is to be accessible to everyone, under equal conditions, and that elementary education (which lasts 8 years in Yugoslavia) is obligatory and no school fees are to be paid for it.

2. The same as the federal Constitution, the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia (article 32, paragraphs 1-3) stipulates that schooling is accessible to everyone, under equal conditions, that elementary education is obligatory, and that regular schooling is financed by public revenues, whereby the citizens pay no school fee.

Similarly, the Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro (art.62) stipulates that everyone has the right to schooling under equal conditions, that elementary education is obligatory and that no school fee is paid.

These issues are regulated in greater detail by corresponding educational laws (on primary school, on secondary school, on two-year post-secondary school, on the university).

3. In the reality of social life, persons belonging to national minorities use equal possibilities for accessing education at all levels. For example, at the level of high education, out of the total of 201,638 students who are Yugoslav citizens and who enrolled in institutions of high education in FR Yugoslavia in the school year of 2000/2001, there were 180 Albanians, 112 Bulgarians, 167 Bunjevci, 44 Vlachs, 47 Jews, 2,943 Hungarians, 1,175 Bosniacs, 26 Germans, 52 Roma, 197 Romanians, 323 Ruthenians, 673 Slovaks, 15 Turks, 87 Ukrainians, 505 Croats and 32 Czechs.

The latest data for all levels of education have been processed only for the area of AP Vojvodina. Among the school population in AP Vojvodina from I-VIII grades, classes in the Hungarian languages are attended by 11%, in the Slovak language by 2%, in the Romanian and Ruthenian languages a little less than 1% of the total number of pupils, which approximately corresponds to the ethnic composition of Vojvodina. In the course of 1999/2000, secondary education in the Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian and Ruthenian languages on the territory of AP Vojvodina was attended by 7,249 pupils in 290 classes, and a similar structure was retained in 2000/2001 as well. In post-secondary education in AP Vojvodina, 8.31% of students are ethnic Hungarians, 1.36% ethnic Slovaks, 0.82% ethnic Hungarians, 1.36% ethnic Slovaks, 0.82% ethnic Romanians and 0.64% are ethnic Ruthenians. In the school year of 2000/2001, in high education at faculties of Novi Sad University, compared to the total number of students doing general studies, 5.72% are Hungarians, 1.13% are ethnic Slovaks, 0.30% are ethnic Romanians and 0.71% are ethnic Ruthenians. Out of the total number of students doing post-graduate studies at faculties of Novi Sad University, 8% are students belonging to the Hungarian national minority, 1.35% are students belonging to the Slovak national minority, 0.21% of Romanian national minority and 0.42% belonging to the Ruthenian national minority.

1. Within the framework of their education systems, the Parties shall recognize that persons belonging to a national minority have the right to set up and to manage their own private educational and training establishments.

2. The exercise of this right shall not entail any financial obligation for the Parties.

1.1. The right of persons belonging to national minorities to establish and manage their own private educational and training institutions is envisaged by article 15 of the Law on the Protection or the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities. This article of the Law stipulates that persons belonging to national minorities, where education will be organized in the languages of national minorities or bilingually, have the right to establish and maintain private educational institutions, schools or a university, where education will be organized in languages of national minorities or in two languages, in line with the law.

1.2. The Law on Primary School of the Republic of Serbia stipulates that primary schools are founded by the Government of the Republic of Serbia (article 9). The presented solution prevents the existence of private primary schools and is justified by the state’s constitutional obligation to ensure elementary education. The establishment of private elementary music and ballet schools is liberal. Unlike the solutions for primary schools, the Law on the Secondary School of the Republic of Serbia stipulates that legal entities and physical persons can establish a secondary school in line with the law (article 13). An identical solution is also envisaged in the Law on Two-Year Post-Secondary School of the Republic of Serbia which envisages the possibility of legal entities and physical persons establishing a two-year post-secondary school in line with the law (article 9, paragraph 5 of the Law on Two-Year Post-Secondary). Also, the Law on the University of the Republic of Serbia envisages that both legal entities and physical persons can establish a university (article 10, paragraph 1).

1.3. The Law on Primary School of the Republic of Montenegro, in article 17, paragraph 1, says that a primary school is established as a public institution. A school for elementary artistic education and a primary school for adult education can be privately owned in Montenegro. The law on Secondary School of the Republic of Montenegro, in article 16, stipulates that a secondary school can be founded as a public, mixed or private institution. The Law on the University of the Republic of Montenegro says that a university unit can be established by a legal entity or physical person if the conditions stipulated by the Law (a program of instruction, teaching staff, financial means, ensured space etc.) are met and if obtained is the consent of the Government of the Republic of Montenegro for the establishment of a university unit and the opinion of the university (article 14 of the Law on the University). In practice, there are no private minority schools and universities.

1. The Framework Convention envisages that the exercise of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities to establish and run their own private institutions for education and training does not entail any financial obligations for the state. The Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities stipulates that both domestic and foreign organizations, as well as foundations and private persons can participate in the financing of education in languages of national minorities, in accordance with the law, and that, in the event of a financial or other type of donation, the state will provide certain benefits or tax deductions.

1. The Parties undertake to recognize that every person belonging to a national minority has the right to learn his or her minority language.

2. In areas inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities traditionally or in substantial numbers, if there is sufficient demand, the Parties shall endeavor to ensure, as far as possible and within the framework of their education systems, that persons belonging to those minorities have adequate opportunities for being taught the minority language or for receiving instruction in this language.

3. Paragraph 2 of this article shall be implemented without prejudice to the learning of the official language or the teaching in this language.

1. The Yugoslav legal system guarantees not only the right of persons belonging to national minorities to study their mother tongue, but also the right, under certain conditions set by the law, to receive education, within the public education system, in two languages or in their mother tongue.

Provisions related to this are contained in the highest acts of the state, i.e. of the member republics. The Constitution of FR Yugoslavia, in article 46, paragraph 1, stipulates that persons belonging to national minorities have the right to be educated in their own language, and this right is also guaranteed by article 34, paragraph 4 of the Serbian Constitution, i.e. article 68 of the Constitution of Montenegro.

This right and the manner of its exercise are regulated in greater detail by relevant laws.

2. 1. The Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities, in article 13, paragraph 1, stipulates that persons belonging to national minorities have the right to instruction and education in their language in pre-school, elementary school and secondary school institutions.

Of special importance for the right of persons belonging to national minorities to study their mother tongue and to be taught in their mother tongue is the provision of article 13, paragraph 2 of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities which specifies that the state is obliged to create conditions for the organizing of education in the language of a national minority, if, at the time of the adoption of this law, there exists no education in the language of a national minority within the system of public education, and until that time, it is obliged to ensure teaching in two languages or the studying of the language of a national minority with elements of national history and culture for persons belonging to a national minority. The presented provision of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities makes it possible for teaching in the mother tongue to be organized for also for those national minorities which have so far not had this possibility.

The Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities, in article 13, paragraph 3, stipulates that, for the realization of education in minority languages, it is possible to prescribe a certain minimal number of students, but this number can be below the minimum prescribed by the law for corresponding forms of teaching and education. In other words, the Law says that classes for minorities can be organized even when there is an insufficient number of students, required for organizing regular classes in the language of the majority population.

Other solutions in the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms regarding this issue (the curriculum for the needs of the education of minorities, with respect for national elements, i.e. the history, art and culture of a national minority, the drawing up of a program of instruction and curriculum with the necessary participation of national councils of national minorities and so on) was discussed in the comment to the realization of article 12 of the Framework Convention.

2.2. According to the Law on Primary School of the Republic of Serbia, teaching in languages of national minorities or in two languages is organized in environments where there are at least 15 pupils registered to enroll in first grade. On the basis of a provision of article 5, paragraph 2, teaching can also be organized for a smaller number of pupils with the approval of the minister of education.

The manner of the realization of the program of instruction and curriculum in two languages in primary schools in the Republic of Serbia is prescribed by the minister of education. When the program of instruction and curriculum are realized in language of national minorities, the pupil is also taught according to the program of instruction and curriculum in the Serbian language.

When the program of instruction and curriculum are realized in the Serbian language, it is ensured that pupils belonging to national minorities in the Republic of Serbia are taught according to the program of instruction and curriculum for their mother tongue with elements of the national culture.

The Law on Primary School of the Republic of Montenegro, in article 11, stipulates that in areas inhabited by a larger number of persons belonging to national minorities, schools or classes where the teaching is in the language of that national, i.e. ethnic group are to be opened. Depending on the conditions and possibilities, it is also possible to introduce, for pupils belonging to national minorities, teaching in their language in other schools and classes of those schools. Article 12 of the same Law says that in areas populated by persons belonging to Yugoslav national and national minorities alike, it is possible to open schools or classes of these schools with bilingual teaching.

2.3. Instruction and education in minority languages at secondary school institutions in the Republic of Serbia are regulated by the Law on Secondary School, according to which it is necessary to have a minimum of 15 students in classes of the first grade of high schools, vocational schools and art schools in order to realize the program of instruction and curriculum in languages of national minorities (article 5, paragraph 1)[9]. For holding classes in minority languages for a smaller number of students it is necessary to obtain the consent of the minister of education. The presented provisions of the Law prescribe, as a precondition for the realization of the right to secondary school education in minority languages, the need for 15 students in an already formed class to opt for such teaching. In view of the fact that it is difficult to find 15 students in already formed classes with a mixed national composition who would request to be taught in a minority language, secondary schools have pupils decide on having classes in minority languages at their enrollment.

Provisions of article 5 of the Law on Secondary School of the Republic of Serbia oblige secondary schools to ensure conditions for the realization of the program of instruction and curriculum in the Serbian language in environments where classes are held only in languages of national minorities, and in environments where there are no bilingual classes or classes in minority languages, the school must ensure conditions for the realization of the program of instruction and curriculum in the subject of the mother tongue with elements of the national culture.

The Law on Secondary School of the Republic of Montenegro envisages that, depending on the conditions and possibilities, students belonging to national minorities can be taught in the language of the national and ethnic group. In areas where Yugoslav nations and persons belonging to the Albanian national minority live together it is possible to open schools or classes with bilingual teaching. Schools for students belonging to the Albanian national minority are opened and classes are held in them in the Albanian language within the single system of instruction and education established by the law.

2.4. The Law on Two-Year Post-Secondary School and the Law on the University of the Republic of Serbia, in essence, contain similar provisions pertaining to the organizing and realization of classes in languages of national minorities. The Law on Two-Year Post-Secondary School also envisages the possibility of classes in the languages of national minorities, which is decided on by the founder. If the founder is not the Government of the Republic of Serbia, its consent for holding classes in the language of a national minority is all the more necessary (article 4, paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Law on Two-Year Post-Secondary School). The Law on the University of the Republic of Serbia envisages an identical solution in article 8, paragraphs 2 and 3.

It is necessary to point out here the fact that the Law on the University allows not only the acquisition of high education in minority languages, but also post-graduate and doctoral studies in these languages.

3. 1. In the 2000/2001 school year, 11 primary schools in the territory of the municipalities of Preševo and Bujanovac had classes in the Albanian language. In two schools, pupils belonging to the Albanian national minority could attend bilingual classes, i.e. classes held at the same time in the Serbian and Albanian languages. In the municipality of Bujanovac there is also a secondary school where the classes are held in the Albanian language, while in the municipality of Preševo there are two secondary schools where the students are taught in both the Serbian and Albanian languages. In the Republic of Montenegro, classes in the Albanian language are organized in Ulcinj, Plav and Tuzi. In these places, there are primary and secondary school institutions where all the classes are organized in the Albanian language. High education in the Albanian language is conducted within the Department for the Albanian language and literature at the Faculty of Philology of Belgrade University.

3.2. Classes in the Bulgarian language for pupils belonging to the Bulgarian national minority are held at three primary schools in the municipalities of Surdulica and Bosilegrad. In the municipality of Bosilegrad there is also one secondary school with classes in the Bulgarian language. In the municipality of Dimitrovgrad, pupils belonging to the Bulgarian national minority attend classes in the Serbian language, but have additional lessons in their mother tongue (Bulgarian) with elements of the national culture. High education in the Bulgarian language is carried out within the Department for the Bulgarian language and literature at the Faculty of Philology of Belgrade University.

3.3. On the territory of AP Vojvodina, pupils belonging to the Hungarian national minority attend classes in their mother tongue in 83 primary school institutions (I-VIII grades). Some of these schools hold all the classes in the Hungarian language, while in some of them the teaching is bilingual. For pupils of impaired development, there are four primary schools with classes in the Hungarian language. Schools for elementary music education in the Hungarian language exist in 8 municipalities. There are 29 secondary schools with all the classes in Hungarian, or with parallel Hungarian and Serbian classes. As part of post-secondary school education, classes in the Hungarian language are held at the two-year post-secondary technical school in Subotica and post-secondary schools for the education of teachers in Novi Sad and Subotica. Classes in the Hungarian language, within high education, are held at the Department for the Hungarian language and literature at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad and Belgrade, and partly also at the Arts Academy in Novi Sad (the Department of Acting in the Hungarian language), the Subotica department of the Sombor-based Teachers’ Faculty and at the Faculties of Economic and Civil Engineering in Subotica.

3.4. Pupils belonging to the Romanian national minority attend classes in their mother tongue at 19 primary schools. Some of these schools teach all the subjects in the Romanian language, while in some classes are bilingual. There are 2 secondary schools where classes are held in the Romanian language. As part of two-year post-secondary school education, classes in the Romanian language are held at the two-year post-secondary school for the education of teachers in Vršac. As part of high education, classes in the Romanian language are held at the Vršac department of the Belgrade-based Teachers’ Faculty and at the Departments of the Romanian language and literature in Novi Sad and Belgrade.

3.5. Classes in the Ruthenian language are held in three primary schools. In Ruski Krstur there is also one secondary school (high school) where classes are held in both the Serbian and Ruthenian languages. Teachers are educated in the Ruthenian language at the Teachers' Faculty in Sombor. As part of high education, classes in the Ruthenian language are held at the Department of the Ruthenian language and literature of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad.

3.6. Pupils belonging to the Slovak national minority attend classes in their mother tongue at 17 primary schools. For children with impaired development there is one primary school where classes are held in the Slovak language. There are also two secondary schools with classes in the Slovak language: the High School in Kovačica and the High School in Bački Petrovac. Within post-second school education, Slovak is a teaching language at the Teachers' Faculty in Sombor (the department in Bački Petrovac) and at the Departments of the Slovak language and literature in Belgrade and Novi Sad.

3.7. For pupils belonging to the Croatian national minority, classes in their mother tongue are in preparation and under way is the declaring of the parents.

3.8. Systematic education in the Roma language represents a problem, especially if one knows that the Roma language is not standardized and that there is insufficient personnel to hold classes in this language. The number of classes and schools in which the Roma language and culture are taught increased last year. Pupils belonging to the Roma national minority have classes in their mother tongue (Roman) with elements of the national culture. Classes in this subject are held at 29 schools, 21 of which in AP Vojvodina, four in Obrenovac and four in Lazarevac outside Belgrade. The federal ministry of national and ethnic communities has drawn up a detailed plan for resolving the issue of education in the Roma language which implies the following steps:

In primary and secondary schools in which classes are held in the languages of minorities, the keeping of records in the languages of minorities as well is obligatory, and school ID is also issued in the languages of minorities (this was already discussed in regard to the official use of the language of minorities, in the comment on the implementation of article 10).

1. Having determined the right of persons belonging to national minorities to be taught in their mother tongue, i.e. to learn this language as a special subject, the Yugoslav legal system envisages the mandatory studying of the Serbian language, as the official language in the country and, at the same time, a means of mutual communication among different ethnic communities.

In corroboration of this it is sufficient to mention the provision of article 13, paragraph 4 of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities which explicitly stipulates that education in the language of the national minority does not rule out the mandatory studying of the Serbian language.

The Parties shall create the conditions necessary for the effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities in cultural, social and economic life and in public affairs, in particular those affecting them.

1. The effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities in cultural, social and economic life and in public affairs in FR Yugoslavia is ensured by the constitutional and legal provisions which define FR Yugoslavia as a (democratic) state in which authority rests with the citizens, and which is based on the rule of law. The Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro, in article 73, explicitly guarantees to persons belonging to national minorities the right to proportional representation in public services, bodies of state authority and local self-government. In FR Yugoslavia, through provisions of numerous laws and practical measures, conditions have been created for the effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities in various spheres of social life.

2. The effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities in cultural and social life and public affairs affecting them is regulated by the federal Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities which, in article 19, for this purpose envisages the organizing of national councils of national minorities in the form of minority self-government, i.e. cultural autonomy. The Law stipulates that persons belonging to national minorities can elect national councils for the purpose of realizing the right to self-government in the fields of the use of the language and script, education, informing and culture. Councils are formed on a voluntary basis, they are elected, and function according to the principle of proportionality and democracy.

According to the provision of article 19, paragraph 3 of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities, the Council has a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 35 members, depending on the total number of persons belonging to the national minority, are they are elected for a period of four years.

The Council represents the national minority in relation to the official use of the language, education, informing in the language of the national minority and culture, it participates in the decision-making process or decides on issues related to these spheres, and it founds institutions dealing with these issues. It is specially determined that:

· when deciding on the mentioned issues, bodies of the state, territorial autonomy or unit of local self-government are obliged to request the opinion of the Council;

· part of the competencies concerning these issues can be entrusted to national councils, with the state providing the financial means for their realization;

· when establishing the scope and type of competencies that would be transferred onto the national council, the request of the national council is also to be taken into account;

· every national council can address state bodies in regard to all issues affecting the rights and positions of a national minority.

A national council is a legal entity. It adopts its statute and budget in line with the Constitution and law, and is financed from the budget and donations. The register of elected councils is kept by the responsible federal body. The Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities stipulates that the election of national councils will be regulated by a separate law. Until the adoption of a separate law on the election of national councils, this body will be elected by the assembly of electors of national minorities which will consist of federal, republican and provincial MPs belonging to national minorities, councilors elected in units of local self-government in which the language of a national minority is in official use, persons belonging to national minorities who collect at least 100 signatures and persons designated by the assemblies of national associations and organizations. The bylaw, whose adoption is stipulated by the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities, regulates the manner in which the assembly of electors will elect national council according to the proportional system. Through the presented solutions regarding national councils, the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities has established a special form of cultural autonomy for national minorities. At the time when this report was being written, the federal ministry of national and ethnic communities started receiving regular initiatives for the holding of elector assemblies, submitted by persons belonging to certain minorities (Hungarian, Slovaks, Ruthenians…). The first elector assembly for the election of the national councils of national minorities will be the elector assembly for the election of the national council of the Hungarian national minority, the holding of which is scheduled for September 21, 2002.

Of special importance for the effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities in public affairs affecting them is the provision of article 20 of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities, which says that, when employing persons in public services, including the police, attention should be paid to the national composition of the population, adequate representation and the knowledge of the language which is spoken in the area of the body or service.

3.1. The participation of persons belonging to national minorities in the political life of the country and the formation of political will is guaranteed by the constitutional provisions on the voting right and the freedom of association. Persons belonging to national minorities who have 18 years of age, as well as all Yugoslav citizens, enjoy both the active and passive voting right. The Constitution of FR Yugoslavia, in article 14, stipulates that political pluralism is the precondition and guarantee of the democratic political order in the country. Persons belonging to national minority have the right to form political parties. The Constitution of FR Yugoslavia envisages only one restriction of the freedom of association which refers to all citizens – in article 42, paragraph 2, the Constitution bans the activities of political, trade union and other organizations whose goal is the forcible undermining of the constitutional order, the violation of the territorial integrity of FR Yugoslavia, the violation of the guaranteed rights and freedoms of the man and citizen or the provocation of national, racial, religious or other intolerance or hatred. In the Yugoslav legal order, the federal Constitutional Court is authorized to decide on the ban on the work of political parties. In the practice so far, no political party has been banned. The federal Law on the Association of Citizens in Associations, Social Organizations and Political Organizations Formed on the Territory of the federal State envisages that a political organization, i.e. party can be formed by a minimum of a hundred citizens. An identical solution regarding the number of persons who can form a political organization is also contained in the Law on Political Organizations of the Republic of Serbia.

3.2. The Law on the Election of Federal Deputies in the Federal Parliament's Chamber of Citizens stipulates that only the electoral lists that win a minimum of 5% of the votes of the total number of voters who took to the polls at a constituency (article 87) can participate in the distribution of seats in parliament. An identical solution is also contained in the Law on the Election of Federal Deputies in the Federal Parliament's Chamber of Republics (article 92) and in the Law on the Election of Members of Parliament of the Republic of Serbia (article 81). The solutions from the mentioned election laws are not affirmative towards national minorities – if they do not form a coalition, parties rallying persons belonging to national minorities cannot easily win seats in parliament. The Law on the Election of Councilors and MPs of the Republic of Montenegro contains a special solution which facilitates the election of representatives of the Albanian national minorities into the Parliament of the Republic of Montenegro and councils of units of local self-government (see comment on the implementation of article 4 of the Convention).

4. Special measures are being taken in FR Yugoslavia whose goal is to increase the effectiveness of the participation of minorities in certain spheres of social life. Apart from the Plan for the integration of Albanians into the social life of the Republic of Serbia, an integral part of which is the formation of a multi-ethnic police (see comment on article 4), the Federal ministry of national and ethnic communities has formed an expert group to draft a law on amendments and additions to the election laws (federal and of the republic of Serbia) which contain unfavorable solutions for national minorities.

5. The representation of persons belonging to national minorities in bodies of authority is being achieved in practice. Representatives of minorities are included in the work of the executive authorities at both the level of the federal units, and the level of the federation. For example, one of the deputy prime ministers of the Republic of Serbia belongs to the Hungarian national minority, and one assistant minister is Ruthenian. The federal minister heading the federal ministry of national and ethnic communities is a Bosniac, while one of his assistants belongs to the Hungarian minority, and one advisor is from the Roma community.

Persons belonging to minorities participate in the work of the legislative authorities at the level of the federation and the level of federal units. In the Federal Parliament, there are persons belonging to minorities in both chambers of the Parliament. Out of a total of 138 members of the Parliament's Chamber of Citizens, two MPs are Hungarian, and one is Slovak. In the Chamber of Republics, which, under the Constitution of FR Yugoslavia, has 40 members, one MP is Hungarian, and one is a Bosniac.

Persons belonging to national minorities participate in the exercise of judicial authority and the work of representative bodies of units of local self-government. In the municipality of Dimitrovgrad, out of four judges of the municipal court, three belong to the Bulgarian minority. In the municipality of Bosilegrad, all the judges of the municipal court are ethnic Bulgarians. All the members of the local council in this municipality are also ethnic Bulgarians. Local elections were held in the three municipalities in southern Serbia inhabited by the Albanian national minority on July 28, 2002. According to the results of the elections, there are ethnic Albanian councilors in the municipal council of Medvedja (6 councilors are Albanians, and 26 are Serbs) and in the municipal council of Preševo (35 councilors are Albanians, and 3 are Serbs)[10]. Several municipalities in Serbia have councilors who are ethnic Roma in the municipal councils of units of local self-government. The president of the City Council of Niš is a Roma. Detailed information on the representation of other national minorities in bodies of authority is presented in the table on data for AP Vojvodina.

National composition of bodies of authority on the territory of AP Vojvodina

The Parties shall refrain from measures which alter the proportions of the population in areas inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities and are aimed at restricting the rights and freedoms flowing from the principles enshrined in the present framework Convention.

1. The Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities, in article 22, bans measures which alter the proportion of the population in areas inhabited by national minorities and which obstruct the realization of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities. Unlike article 16 of the Framework Convention which imposes on the Parties the obligation to refrain from measures that alter the proportion of the population in areas inhabited by national minorities, the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities bans such measures.

When interpreting the provision of article 22, one can conclude that the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities, in line with article 16 of the Framework Convention, does not ban all measures the result of which are or can be an alteration in the proportion of the population (sometimes such measures are simply inevitable), but rather only those coming from the public authorities and which obstruct the realization of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities.

According to the provision of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities, in order to ban measures which alter the proportion of the population in areas inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities, the element of will, envisaged by article 16 of the Framework Convention, does not need to exist, i.e. it is not necessary to have such measures taken with the goal of restricting the rights and freedoms of persons belonging to minorities. For banning measures which alter the proportion of the population in areas inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities, sufficient is the objective danger that their implementation restricts the realization of rights.

2. In the legal system of FR Yugoslavia, few are the minority rights whose realization is stipulated by the numerical size of national minorities and their share in the total number of inhabitants of FR Yugoslavia, or a certain area where this right is realized. It is on the share of minorities in the total number of inhabitants of FR Yugoslavia, or units of local self-government, that the right to address state bodies in the mother tongue and the right to receive in one’s own language a response to memorandums, proposals and petitions (a 2% share in the total population), as well as the official use of the language and script (a 15% share in the number of inhabitants in a unit of local elf-government) depends. Certain measures which the public authorities would undertake, and which would alter the proportion of the population in certain cases could objectively not endanger the realization of minority rights, all the more so since it is not possible to disrupt the realization of some of these rights which, through the institution of acquired rights, have remained in force, if they had been acquired on the basis of the regulations that were applied until the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities came into force. Thus, the official use of minority languages which existed at the time when the Law on Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities has been retained regardless of the percentage of the persons belonging to national minorities in the number of inhabitants of a unit of local self-government. In this sense, any kind of alteration of the number of inhabitants in units of local self-government could not affect the official use of the language and script which existed at the time when the Law was adopted, even if the number of persons belonging to minorities whose language is in official use was below 15%, or if it dropped below this percentage, regardless of the reasons that led to the reduction of the share of persons belonging to national minorities in the total number of inhabitants in that area.

3. The territorial regulation of the areas inhabited by national minorities has not changed since the 1960s. Nevertheless, it should be mentioned that, in FR Yugoslavia, i.e. in its member republics, the policy of discriminatory gerrymandering was sometimes applied towards minorities. This phenomenon was pronounced the most at local elections. Since the changes in 2000 and the adoption of a new Law on Local Self-Government, elections at all levels have been carried out according to the proportional election system, in one constituency (the municipality - for local elections, the Republic - for the republican and federal elections). It should be pointed out that certain solutions in the election laws are unfavorable for minorities (see comment to article 15).

4. In FR Yugoslavia, there existed and still exist examples of the undertaking of measures whose results were, or are a certain alteration of the proportion of the population in areas inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities (especially in Vojvodina). Such measures do not affect the right of minority communities and their members. At issue is the settlement of an enormous number of refugees and internally displaced persons who, due to war-time activities, moved to the territory of Yugoslavia from former republics of SFR Yugoslavia (now sovereign states) or from the territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. FR Yugoslavia did not plan the settlement of refugees, nor did it undertake this with the aim of restricting the rights and freedoms of national minorities. Because of their extremely large number (several hundred thousand persons), the economic weakness of the country exhausted by international sanctions, the lack of housing space and so on, these refugees (at issue are entire families) have been settled throughout the territory of FR Yugoslavia, primarily throughout Serbia, i.e. Vojvodina. The arrival of refugees and their settlement in multi-ethnic environments did not lead to the reduction of the scope of national minority rights. In practice, there have been cases of minority organizations protesting against the settlement of refugees. The last registered case is the reaction of the Democratic Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians because of the settlement of six refugee families in Sombor, but, according to the assessment of state bodies, settlement within this scope cannot affect the realization of minority rights, nor can it cause the disturbance of the local population.

1. The Parties undertake not to interfere with the right of persons belonging to national minorities to establish and maintain free and peaceful contacts across frontiers with persons lawfully staying in other States, in particular those with whom they share an ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious identity, or a common cultural heritage.

2. The Parties undertake not to interfere with the right of persons belonging to national minorities to participate in the activities of non-governmental organizations, both at the national and international levels.

1. The right of persons belonging to national minorities to establish and maintain free and peaceful contacts across frontiers with persons lawfully staying in other States, in particular those with whom they share an ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious identity, or a common cultural heritage is determined, primarily by the Constitutions.

Thus, the Constitutions of FR Yugoslavia, in article 48, guarantees the right persons belonging to national minorities to establish and maintain unhindered mutual relations in FR Yugoslavia and outside its borders with persons belonging to their nation in other states, but not to the detriment of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or its member republics.

A similar provision is also contained in the Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro which stipulates that persons belonging to national and ethnic groups have the right to establish and maintain unhindered contact with citizens outside Montenegro which whom they share a national and ethnic origin, cultural and historical heritage and religious convictions, but not to the detriment of Montenegro.

2. The federal Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities, in article 6, also stipulates that persons belonging to national minorities have the right freely to establish and maintain peaceful relations within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and outside its borders with persons lawfully staying in other states, in particular those with whom they share an ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious identity, or a common cultural heritage. The provision of paragraph 2 of the same law stipulates that the state can envisage certain benefits for the purpose of realizing this right.

3. Cooperation of persons belonging to minorities with persons lawfully staying in other state, and with whom they share an ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious identity is also achieved through cultural and educational associations of persons belonging to minorities. The central cultural and publishing societies, so-called »Maticas« of national minorities have widely branched-out international contacts and cooperation with fellow nationals in the world. For example the Ruthenian Matica actively participates in the work of the World Council of Ruthenians, and it also achieves cooperation with Ruthenian organizations in Ukraine, the Republic of Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic, the US and Canada. Also the Slovak Matica in FR Yugoslavia has signed agreements on cooperation with the Slovak Matica in Bratislava, the Association of Slovaks from Yugoslavia in the Slovak Republic and the Association of Slovaks and Czechs in Romania.

4. A special form of achieving contacts with persons with the same ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious identity in FR Yugoslavia has been achieved by persons belonging to the Hungarian national minority. When Hungary, on June 19, 2001, adopted its well known Law on Hungarians Living in Neighboring Countries, better known as the ‘Status Law’, unlike some other states, Yugoslavia demonstrated a maximal doze of tolerance and understanding, although this, for Yugoslavia foreign law, in a certain sense regulates the legal position of its citizens (belonging to the Hungarian national minority). Therefore, even though at issue is the ex-territorial application of the laws of a state in the territory of its neighboring country, laws concerning such a sensitive matter as are human rights, especially the position of minorities, even after this document came into force (1.1.2002), Yugoslavia continued to maintain a benevolent attitude to it, having full understanding for the concern of its northern neighbor for the persons belonging to the Hungarian national minority in neighboring countries.

In this spirit, 6 offices of the organization Concordia Minoritatis Hungaricae (in Senta, Zrenjanin, Temerin, Novi Sad and Subotica) have been opened in Vojvodina (where the Hungarian minority lives). In line with the solutions of the ‘Status Law’, these offices collect information on persons interested in obtaining Hungarian personal documents and forward is to the Consulate General of the Republic of Hungary in Subotica, through which it is ultimately forwarded to the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign affairs. The truth be told, this initiative did not encounter equal understanding from everyone, so that, on the ground, there has been opposition, and even threats to the offices collecting the mentioned documentation. FR Yugoslavia has not officially denied these offices the right to work on its territory.

Similar benefits, on the basis of laws of their mother states, are also enjoyed by persons belonging to the Romanian and Slovak national minority in FR Yugoslavia.

1. The right of persons belonging to national minorities to establish non-governmental organizations and participate in the activities of such organizations stems from those regulations pertaining to the establishment and work of citizens’ organizations, and which equally apply to all citizens, including persons belonging to minorities. Furthermore, a special law determines their right to establish special cultural, artistic and scientific institutions, societies and associations, which was discussed in the comment on the implementation of article 5 of the Framework Convention.

2. It is especially important to mention those norms referring to the participation of persons belonging to national minorities in international non-governmental organizations.

Thus, article 48 of the Constitution of FR Yugoslavia explicitly guarantees the rights of persons belonging to national minorities to participate in the activities of international non-governmental organizations, but not to the detriment of FR Yugoslavia or its member republics.

In this sense, the Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro is even more liberal – article 74, paragraph 1 stipulates that persons belonging to national and ethnic groups have the right to participate in regional and international non-governmental organizations, as well as the right to address international institutions for the protection of their freedoms and rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

The federal Law on the association of citizens within associations, social organizations and political organizations established in the territory of the federal state stipulates that an association of citizens, i.e. a non-governmental organization can be founded by a minimum of ten citizens with voting rights (article 9). An identical solution, according to which a non-governmental organization can be established by 10 citizens, is also contained in the Law on Social Organizations and Citizens’ Associations of the Republic of Serbia. In view of the fact that the federal Law on the Association of Citizens and the Law on Social Organizations and Citizens’ Associations of the Republic of Serbia were adopted during the previous Yugoslavia, it is clear that they do not envisage the freedom of the association of foreigners (it is important to mention that the Constitution of FR Yugoslavia and the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia guarantee the freedom of association for citizens, while the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia guarantees this freedom without stating whom it belongs to). In an effort to correct this shortcoming of the legal system, the Ministry of Justice of FR Yugoslavia drew up a draft law on international non-governmental organizations which is soon expected to enter assembly procedure. The Law on Non-governmental Organizations of the Republic of Montenegro states that a non-governmental association can be founded by a minimum of five persons with residence or a seat in the Republic of Montenegro (article 9), whereby the founders can be domestic and foreign legal entities and physical persons.

4. There is a large number of non-governmental organizations in FR Yugoslavia. According to data of the non-governmental sector, several hundred non-governmental organizations are active in FR Yugoslavia. Also, according to figures of the non-governmental sector, there are 91 international non-governmental non-profit organizations acting o the territory of FR Yugoslavia.[11]

The Parties shall endeavor to conclude, where necessary, bilateral and multilateral agreements with other States, in particular neighboring States, in order to ensure the protection of persons belonging to the national minorities concerned.

Where relevant, the Parties shall take measures to encourage transfrontier co-operation.

1.The agreement of friendship, good-neighborly relations and cooperation with Romania regulates, in principle, the position of the Romanian minority in FR Yugoslavia with the provision stipulating that the protection of minorities would be ensured in accordance with UN and OSCE documents. Also, the Agreement of the normalization of relations with the Republic of Croatia states that national minorities will be guaranteed all the rights envisaged by international law (see comment on the implementation of article 2 of the Framework Convention)

2.FR Yugoslavia has initiated the signing of bilateral agreements with neighboring states for the purpose regulating the position of national minorities. The largest progress has been achieved in talks with Hungary (the agreement is soon expected to be signed), and under way are also talks with Romania and Croatia. Furthermore, to all intents and purpose, talks with Macedonia are shortly to begin.

3.Certain issues of importance for national minorities have been regulated by special programs of cultural and educational cooperation concluded with the Republic of Slovakia, the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania.

[1] FRY Statistical Yearbook for 2001

[2] According to the data of the Provincial Secretariat for Administration, Regulations and National Minorities

[3] FRY Statistical Yearbook for 2001, p. 399 – previous data. With respect to Kosovo and Metohija no data are available. Also hours of programs of other stations are included (transmissions and broadcasts of programs of other stations).

[4] Including foreign languages.

[5] The Statute states that it is the Serbo-Croatian language that is in official use, i.e. it calls the official language by its old name which was in official use in 1991 when the act was adopted. Under way is the procedure of changing the Statute so as to stipulate that the Serbian language is in official use and to introduce the Croatian language into official use as well.

[6] This provision existed even before the latest amendments and additions to the Law, but it was contained in art. 27/3.

[7] For example, in the course of 1999, the Commission had a budget of only 200 euro !!!!!

[8] The figures in the table refer to textbooks in the Albanian language prepared during the previous Yugoslavia. In present time, university textbooks are not prepared by the Institute for Textbooks and Teaching Aids, but they are rather issued by faculties, i.e. universities.

[9] Depending on the type of secondary school, education in them lasts 3-4 years.

[10] Results of the election for the Municipality of Bujanovac are not available yet, owing to the conduct of judicial proceedings.

[11] Data according to the Directory of non-governmental, non-profit organizations in FR Yugoslavia 1996-2002, Center for the Development of the Non-profit Sector.

	NEWSPAPERS
	Total	Albanian [2]		Bulgarian		Slovak		Hungarian		Romanian	Ruthenian	Turkish
1. ISSUE					2		7						3
1998	48		3		2		7		20	10	3		-
1999	44		2		2		7		20	10	3		-
2000	44		…		-		-		23	9	3		-
Daily	1		…		-		-		1	-	-		-
Weekly and bi-weekly	9		…		1		1		6	-	-		-
Monthly	11		…		-		-		5	1	2		-
Bi-monthly	-		…		-		-		-	-	-
Quarterly	3		…		-		-		1	1	-		-
Semestral and annual	-		…		-		-		-	-	-		-
Occasional and special	20		…				3		10	6	1		-
2. CIRCULATION IN THOUSANDS
1998	9259		1565		107		420		6752	265	23		127
1999	6301		4		126		371		5540	241	16		-
2000	6642		…		100		388		5904	234	16		-
Daily	3484		…		-		-		3484	-	-		-
Weekly and bi-weekly	2521		…		88		332		1905	196	-		--
Monthly	189		…		12		39		118	7	13		-
Bi-monthly	-		…		-		-		-	-	-		-
Quarterly	8		…		-		1		2	5	-		-
Semestral and annual	-		…		-		-		-	-	-		-
Occasional and special	76		…		-		16		31	26	3		-

	Total	Serbian	Albanian	Bulgarian	Hungarian	Roma	Romanian	Ruthenian	Slovak	Ukrainian	Other languages [4]
1. Total	1053890	1008491	1293	268	21542	3141	2201	1885	5295	107	9307
Montenegro	120250	113861	1293	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5096
Serbia	933640	894630	-	28	21542	3141	2201	1885	5295	107	4211
Central Serbia	804717	797990	-	268	-	2248	-	-	-	-	4211
Vojvodina	128293	96640	-	-	21542	893	2201	1885	5295	107	-
Kosovo and Metohija	...	...	...	...	...	....	...	...	...	...	....
2.Republican and regional	129719	173787	156	-	8784	869	2123	1444	2115	77	3364
Montenegro	36500	36344	156	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Serbia	156219	137443	-	-	8784	829	2123	1444	2115	77	-
Central Serbia	118875	115471	-	-	-	40	-	-	-	-	3364
Vojvodina	37344	21972	-	-	8784	829	2123	1444	2115	77	-
Kosovo and Metohija	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...
3. Local	861171	834704	1137	268	12758	2272	78	441	3180	30	5943
Montenegro	83750	77517	1137	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Serbia	777421	757187	-	268	12758	2272	78	441	3180	30	847
Central Serbia	685842	682519	-	268	-	2208	-	-	-	-	847
Vojvodina	91579	74668	-	-	12758	64	78	441	3180	30	-
Kosovo and Metohija	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...

Total	328563	302070	55	-	997	181	180	195	183	-	24702
Montenegro	48968	43480	55	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5433
Serbia	279595	258590	-	-	997	181	180	195	183	-	19269
Central Serbia	254824	237598	-	-	-	70		-	-	-	17156
Vojvodina	24771	20992	-	-	997	111	180	195	183	-	2113
Kosovo and Metohija	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...

Year	Hungarian	Slovak	Ruthenian	Romanian	Roma
1992	532	182	171	182	-
1994	452	151	143	142	8
1995	471	143	144	147	14
1996	548	156	154	152	43
1997	733	179	175	178	54
2001 – new programming schedule as of 22 February 2001	502	221	221	221	246

NATIONAL MINORITY LANGUAGE	Primary school		Secondary school		University editions[8]	Major works- Special editions	total
NATIONAL MINORITY LANGUAGE	textbooks	Required reading	textbooks	Required reading	University editions[8]	Major works- Special editions	total
Hungarian language	104	52	55	4	-	13	228
Slovak language	91	46	46	-	-	13	196
Romanian language	85	58	24	-	-	12	179
Ruthenian language	83	36	35	1	-	13	168
Roma language	1	-	-	-	-	-	1
Albanian language	81	13	107	-	168	4	373
Turkish language	60	12	12	-	-	5	89
Bulgarian language	21	8	4	-	-	2	35
Ukrainian language	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
total	526	225	283	5	168	63	1270

	MAGAZINES
	Total	Albanian	Bulgarian	Slovak	Hungarian	Romanian	Ruthenian
1. ISSUE
1998	20	…	1	5	9	2	3
1999	16	…	1	4	6	2	3
2000	19	…	1	5	9	2	2
Daily	-	…	-	-	-	-	-
Weekly and bi-weekly	-	…	-	-	-	-	-
Monthly	3	…	-	1	2	-	-
Bi-monthly	1	…	1	-	1	-	-
Quarterly	3	…	-	-	1	1	1
Semestral and annual	5	…	-	1	2	1	1
Occasional and special	6	…	-	3	3	-	-
2. CIRCULATION IN THOUSANDS
1998	45	…	17	17	16	3	5
1999	46	…	24	24	14	3	4
2000	48	…	20	20	20	3	4
Daily	-	…	-	-	-	-	-
Weekly and bi-weekly	-	…	-	-	-	-	-
Monthly	8	…	2	2	6	-	-
Bi-monthly	3	…	-	-	2	-	-
Quarterly	4	…	-	-	0	3	1
Semestral and annual	14	…	2	2	9	0	3
Occasional and special	21	…	17	17	4	-	-

Language of a national minority in official use	Number of municipalities where it is in official use
Hungarian	30
Slovak	12
Romanian	9
Ruthenian	6
Czech	1
Croatian	2

CATEGORY	Croats and Bunjevci	Hungarians	Germans	Roma	Romanians	Ruthenians	Slovaks	Ukrainians	Czechs
Presidents of the councils of units of local self-government	-	7 16.3%	-	-	1 2.3%	1 2.3%	1 2.3%	-	-
Vice-presidents and secretaries of the councils of units of local self-government	2 2.%	26 26%	-	-	1 1%	-	5 5%	-	-
Members of councils of units of local self-government	28 1,8%	269 17.3%	-	9 0.6%	39 2.5%	16 1%	70 4.5%	-	2 0.1%
Chairmen of executive boards of councils of units of local self-government	-	9 20.9%	-	-	-	1 2.3%	4 9.3%	-	-
Members of executive boards of the councils of units of local self-government	6 1.8%	71 20.9%	-	-	8 2.4%	2 0.6%	21 6.2%	-	1 0.3%
Judges of municipal courts	7 1.8%	37 9.7%	1 0.3%	1 0.3%	6 1.6%	3 0.8%	11 2.9%	-	-
Judges of district courts	2 2.2%	4 4.4%	-	-	-	-	1 1.1%	-	-
Municipal public prosecutors	3 3%	8 8%	-	-	2 2%	1 1%	3 3%	-	-
District public prosecutors	-	3 9,4%	-	-	-	-	2 6.2%	-	-
Judges of commercial courts	1 2%	5 10.2%	-	-	1 2%	-	-	-	-
Members of Parliament of AP Vojvodina	3 2.5%	20 16.6%	-	-	1 0.8%	1 0.8%	2 1.6%	-	-
Provincial administrative bodies	8 0.3%	18 6.8%		-	7 2.6%	5 1.9%	11 4.2%	1 0,03%	-

Newspapers and Magazines in Languages of National Minorities in FR Yugoslavia[1]

NEWSPAPERS

Total

Daily

Weekly and bi-weekly

Bi-monthly

Quarterly

Semestral and annual

Occasional and special

Daily

Weekly and bi-weekly

Bi-monthly

Quarterly

Semestral and annual

Occasional and special

Language of broadcast radio and TV programs in FRY in 2000 in hours[3]

Total

Total

Article 10