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1. The Legality of the Restrictions of the Civil and Political Rights in Poland During the First Wave of the Coronavirus Pandemic

Author:
Anna Utrata
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
This article aims to answer the question about the legality of the selected measures implemented by the Polish government during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in constitutional rights and freedom restrictions. The study focuses on examining selected restrictions implemented in the spring of 2020 in the light of the Polish Constitution, especially in the light of Article 31 (3), which defines the premises of limitation of citizens’ rights and freedoms. It indicates the lack of legal basis and incompatibility with constitutional premises of many restrictions. The study further examines the premises of the introduction of the state of emergency, indicating that the government's decision not to impose such a state was legal and why. The study considers legal status from March 13 to May 16, 2020.
Topic:
Politics, Civil Rights, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

2. Citizenship, the Vector of Present? Considerations de lege lata Based on the Polish Domestic Law

Author:
Małgorzata Babula
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The modern world is opening up to a series of innovations, differences and broad- ly understood diversity. The pace of changes becomes a peculiar substructure of creating patchwork nations. The variety of races, colors, religions and cultures. All of the above con- tain a point which, like an electron, resembles an omnipresent “variant”. This constant value is a human being. We are accompanied by a sense of belonging to a specific place, culture and values. On this basis, we expect something (e.g. having rights and freedoms). Citizenship seems to be a binder that puts us in a clearly narrowed community with certain values and often allows us to distinguish our own “self ”. Created by history, absorbing presence, citizen- ship is an important element of our affiliation to the country, to culture and to the values hid- den behind them. In the world of diversity, it seems to be a desirable and important element. The purpose of this article is to discuss the contemporary role assigned to citizenship, as well as to show the citizenship as a factor shaping the position of the individual and justifying the distinction made in specific areas of human functioning in the state.
Topic:
Law, Constitution, Citizenship, Civil Rights, and Domestic Policy
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

3. Moldova: Four Priorities for Mainstreaming Minority Rights

Author:
Anita McKinna
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
The economic and political challenges currently facing Moldova are formidable. The focus of the EU’s reform priorities for Moldova lie in the realms of combating systemic corruption, minimising the politicisation of state institutions, and improving judicial independence and financial governance. The general absence of volatile inter-ethnic tensions in Moldova has meant that minority rights here has received less international attention than other post-communist states. Advocating for the protection of the rights of minorities is reserved primarily for specific human rights defenders, and finds little space in the wider discourse regarding Moldova’s future. Yet Moldova’s geographic, historical and geopolitical location between Russia and the EU mean that it must play a delicate balancing act in which ethno-cultural harmony lies at the heart. This Issue Brief outlines the four pressing issues that currently restrict Moldova’s ethnic minorities’ participation in public life, and discusses opportunities for overcoming these restrictions to ensure stable inter-ethnic relations in Moldova.
Topic:
Governance, Minorities, Ethnicity, Discrimination, Civil Rights, and Identity
Political Geography:
Europe and Moldova

4. Ethnic Minorities and Minority Rights in Europe : Theoretical Typologies

Author:
Alan B. Anderson
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
Based on earlier work (Anderson, 1989,1990) which was partially included in a presentation, “Defining Ethnic Minorities and Minority Rights in Europe: Implications of the ‘New Migration’” , at ECMI on May 4, 2017, this working paper describes and exemplifies four theoretical typologies, respectively on types of ‘indigenous’ (i.e. non-immigrant) minority situations; ‘immigrant’ minorities; alternative state policies; and minority responses to state policies.
Topic:
Minorities, Ethnicity, Civil Rights, Identity, and Protected People
Political Geography:
Europe

5. Nomen Est Omen? Naming and Renaming of Places in Minority Inhabited Areas in Georgia

Author:
Maria Diego Gordon
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
Georgia is home for almost 490,000 members of different ethnic minority groups, people that are mostly inhabiting the Kvemo Kartli and Samkhtse-Javakheti regions. Since the beginning of the 1990’s claims have been made by local activists and some NGOs regarding the renaming of their villages in these areas. It has long been discussed the pivotal role played by place-names in the formation of the collective memory of a country. Hence, even though these names are perceived as an unquestionable part of everyday landscape, they are a really valuable reflection of the different political tendencies that the governments and regimes are following, for example, regarding ethnic and national minorities. Firstly, the aim of this working paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the changes that the topographical landscape in the minority inhabited areas in Georgia have experienced since 1921. Secondly, to explain and contextualize the reasons behind the very different regimes and governments to execute these changes.
Topic:
Minorities, Ethnicity, Civil Rights, Identity, and Territory
Political Geography:
Europe and Georgia

6. Drafting Domestic Legislation Provisioning National Minority Rights : The Dos and Don’ts According to the Council of Europe

Author:
Ljubica Djordjevic and Tove H. Malloy
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
This paper deals with the issues considered to be of most relevance when drafting domestic legislation on national minority rights. This covers both technical/procedural issues and substantive issues. Among the technical/procedural issues it is important to: make clear the structure of the legal framework (should one comprehensive law on national minority rights be adopted or not) and the hierarchical relations within the legal framework, to ensure inclusive enacting procedure, and to bear in mind the processes/dynamics after the adoption of the law. Substantive issues refer to some of the central, conceptual questions (such as definitions, the self-identification principle, the character of national minority rights and similar), but also to the very core of regulations set out in the law. In the case of the latter, the paper focuses on the principle of equality, language rights of national minorities, and minority participation in public affairs.
Topic:
Minorities, Ethnicity, Civil Rights, Domestic Policy, and Identity
Political Geography:
Europe

7. Minority Rights Governance: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Equal Treatment when Budgeting for Education

Author:
Tove H. Malloy
Publication Date:
04-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
When governments are faced with economic crises, the education sector is often the first sector to experience budget reductions. This may hit educational programmes for minorities disproportionally harder, if austerity measures are applied equally across the board, as positive measures adopted as a result of minority protection schemes are more costly than regular educational programmes. Minority educational programmes incur higher cost per pupil due to additional and extra-curricula topics and activities aimed at preserving and promoting minority cultures. Cutting special programmes may inadvertently or perhaps deliberately lead governments to discriminate against minority pupils, who have enrolled in minority schools or programmes. Unfortunately, there is little guidance for policy makers and school principals in this regard. International human rights law instruments prescribe positive measures without explaining how these should be safeguarded during economic hard times. Only two international soft law documents provide some guidance with regard to education for minorities. This Issue Brief will examine the standards and guidance available in international law and put these in a perspective of actual practice of education for minorities in Europe. The main argument is that equal treatment or equal reductions across the board do not secure equality; equitable processes protecting positive measures are needed.
Topic:
Civil Society, Education, Governance, Minorities, Civil Rights, and Identity
Political Geography:
Europe

8. How the EU Can Safeguard Its “Fundamental Values”: Two Ideas

Publication Date:
07-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
This paper outlines two initiatives that could be taken up by the EU institutions to improve compliance with fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law by EU Member States. These measures would not require the introduction of new legislation or amendment of the EU treaties. Rather, they could be put into effect within a short time-frame through informal changes in internal policy by the institutions and inter-institutional agreements.
Topic:
Human Rights, Treaties and Agreements, European Union, Democracy, Civil Rights, and Institutions
Political Geography:
Europe

9. Monitoring Minority Protection in EU Member States

Publication Date:
07-2003
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
These documents, prepared by the EU Accession Monitoring Program of the Open Society Institute, assess the state of minority protection in 10 Central and Eastern European states seeking full membership in the European Union and in five current member states. The reports examine candidate states' implementation of their minority protection or integration programmes, and each state's laws, institutions, and practices relating to minority protection of Roma or Muslims.
Topic:
Islam, Law, Minorities, European Union, Civil Rights, Institutions, Political Rights, and Freedom of Religion
Political Geography:
Europe and Eastern Europe