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Romania Initial Periodical Report Strasbourg, 26 October 2010 MIN-LANG/PR (2010) 11 EUROPEAN CHARTER FOR REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES Initial periodical report presented to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in accordance with Article 15 of the Charter ROMANIA CONTENTS Part I 1 Part II 1) The Albanian Language 21 2) The Armenian Language 27 3) The Greek Language 32 4) The Italian Language 39 5) The Yiddish Language 45 6) The Macedonian Language 52 7) The Polish Language 56 8) The Romani Language 61 9) The Ruthenian Language 74 10) The Tartar Language 76 Part III Introductory Remarks 81 a) The Bulgarian Language 85 b) The Czech Language 104 c) The Croat Language 116 d) The German Language 130 e) The Hungarian Language 153 f) The Russian Language 193 g) The Serb Language 211 h) The Slovak Language 227 i) The Turkish Language 248 j) The Ukrainian Language 261 Resources 279 2 Initial Periodical Report on the Implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in Romania Introduction PART I 1. The main regulations by which the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has been implemented in Romania. General considerations on which the decision of the Romanian state to ratify this legal instrument was based Legal regulations by which the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has been implemented in Romania In discussions concerning Eastern and Central Europe, we must take into account the fact that this region was one of the most ethnically divided areas. The complex ethnic composition of eastern and central European states makes it extremely difficult to establish the historical roots of minority issues. The number of nationalities is not only three times higher than that in Western Europe, but the legacy of this ethnic model shows an unprecedented wealth. This area has been the subject of much tension and conflict in history, but it also knew periods of peaceful coexistence among different minority groups. According to the Romanian Constitution, international treaties become part of the law after ratification and have precedence over domestic law. Furthermore, in preparing for accession and then as member of the European Union (since January 2007), Romania pledged to ensure the existence of adequate mechanisms for the implementation of European standards. Romania has ratified or signed several international documents for the protection of human rights, including the protection of persons belonging to national minorities, with special attention to preserving and promoting their languages. Romania is party to several international legal instruments, just a few being listed below: - The International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 16, 1966; - The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by The United Nations General Assembly on November 20, 1989; - The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted on December 9, 1948; - The International Convention for the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime in Apartheid, adopted on November 30, 1973; - The International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, adopted on December 21, 1965; 3 - The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by The United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948; - The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20 1989; - The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted on December 10, 1984; - The Convention on Refugees, 1951; - The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted by the United Nations United to December 18, 1979; - The UNESCO Convention on the protection of world cultural and natural heritage, from November 23, 1972; - The International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966; - The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of 1 February 1995; - The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 5 November 1992; - The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 4 November 1950. The basic principle of Romanian law is that all citizens are equal before the law and that Romanian citizens who are members of national minorities enjoy the same rights - primarily the same political rights and fundamental rights - as all other Romanian citizens. In addition, Romanian law contains a number of normative acts addressing exclusively national minority rights. These acts are listed in the following pages and will be discussed in detail in the respective articles of the Charter. There is no definition of "national minorities" in the law nor is there any specific legislation on the right to be recognized as a minority group separately. In practice, the concept of national minority is understood as referring to "historical minorities" who have lived in Romania for hundreds of years. Main rules and regulations prior to the ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages adopted by the Romanian state are: The Constitution of Romania , republished, guarantees citizens belonging to national minorities the right to identity. According to art. 6: "(1) The State recognizes and guarantees the right of persons belonging to national minorities to the preservation, development and expression of their ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity (2) The protection measures taken by the Romanian state for the preservation, development and expression of identity of the persons belonging to national minorities shall conform to the principles of equality and non-discrimination in relation to other Romanian citizens." In courts : Article 128 para.s (2) and (3) of the Romanian Constitution, republished, stipulate the right of citizens belonging to national minorities to use their mother tongue and to benefit from interpreters in court: 4 2) Romanian citizens belonging to national minorities have the right to express themselves in their mother tongue before the courts of law, under the terms of the organic law. (3) The ways for exercising the right stipulated under para. (2), including the use of interpreters or translations, shall be stipulated so as not to hinder the proper administration of justice and not to involve additional expenses to those interested. Article 14 of Law no. 304/2004 on the judicial system, republished, stipulates the right of citizens belonging to national minorities to express themselves in their own language before courts: "(1) Proceedings shall be conducted in Romanian. (2) The Romanian citizens belonging to national minorities have the right to express themselves in their language before the courts, in accordance with this law. (3) Where one or more parties require expressing themselves in their own language, the court shall provide, free of charge, an authorized interpreter or translator. (4) Where all parties agree to express themselves in their own language, the court must ensure this right and proper administration of justice, with the principles of adversarial and advertising. (5) Applications and procedural provisions shall be made only in Romanian. (6) The proceedings held by the parties in their mother tongue are recorded, being registered in Romanian. The objections raised by those concerned about the translation and their record is resolved by the court before the conclusion of the discussions in that case, and will be registered at the end of the meeting. (7) The interpreter or translator will sign all documents for compliance, declating that the written documents or the recordings were based on his/her translation." Article 7(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides: "(1) criminal proceedings shall be conducted in Romanian. (2) In the judicial proceedings, all parties at the trial shall benefit from the use of minority languages, while the compiling of the procedural provisions will be carried out in Romanian." Article 8 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides: "Parties who do not speak or understand the Romanian language or cannot express themselves shall, free of charge, have the opportunity to inspect parts of the file, the right to speak and the right to express conclusions in court through an interpreter." Article 128 para.s (1) and (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure: "(1) When a party or other person to be heard does not speak Romanian or cannot express himself in the Romanian language, the criminal prosecution body or court shall ensure the free use of an interpreter. The interpreter may be appointed or chosen by the parties; in the latter case, the interpreter must be legally authorized. (2) The provisions of the preceding para. shall apply accordingly also where some of the documents in the case file or those presented before the court are written in a language other than Romanian.” Article 137 para.(1), para.(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure: 5 "(1) A person detained or arrested shall be promptly informed, in the language they understand, the reasons for their detention or arrest and prosecution, as soon as possible. Charges shall be made only in the presence of a lawyer, elected or appointed. (2) When ordering the preventive detention of the accused, the judge notifies a family member or another person who the accused designates within 24 hours, this being recorded in the minutes. (3) The detained may require to warn a family member or one of the persons shown in para. 2 of the measures being taken. Exceptionally, if the criminal investigation body appreciates that this would affect the criminal prosecution, the prosecutor will be informed and will decide on the notice requested by the detained. " Article 142 of the Code of Civil Procedure: "(1) If the party or witness do not speak Romanian, an authorized translator will be used or, failing that, a person of trust, in which case the provision of the experts will be applied.
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