Publication details
The Principle of Self-determination and Rights of National Minorities. A Legal and Philosophical Analysis of the Problem Using an Example from the Czech Republic
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| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
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| Description | The principle of self-determination in international law is considered a fundamental principle of legal protection of minorities. Combination of the principle of self-determination with the national principle interconnects policy and law as two autonomous social systems. In our interpretation, we will focus on what structural changes the principle of self-determination in the legal system initiates. For better understanding of our interpretation, we will start from the argumentation and interpretation of a specific case that occurred in the Czech Republic. This concerns the case "D.H. and others versus the Czech Republic” from 1999. We will attempt to show how the principle of self-determination as a legal principle is vague in nature, and its application may lead to uncertainty. In the second part, we will ask whether the principle of self-determination provides sufficient normative reasons for differentiating the majority and minority. Spoken in words of system theory, we will focus on whether and in what way the principle of self-determination enables "coding" of a national minority as a subject of law. |