Dabis Attila Misbeliefs about Autonomy The Constitutionality of the Autonomy of Szeklerland Corvinus University of Budapest Institute for International Studies Supervisor: Dr. Elisabeth Kardos Kaponyi © Dabis Attila, 2017 All rights reserved Corvinus University of Budapest International Relations Multidisciplinary Doctoral School International and Security Studies Subprogram Misbeliefs about Autonomy The Constitutionality of the Autonomy of Szeklerland Ph.D. Dissertation DABIS Attila Budapest, 2017 Contents List of tables and figures ........................................................................................... 7 Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... 8 Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 1 .................................................................................................................. 11 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 11 1.1 Relevance and structure of the analysis ...................................................... 11 1.2 Theoretical and methodological framework ................................................ 13 1.3 Primary Concepts ........................................................................................ 16 1.4 Relating concepts ........................................................................................ 21 1.5 Historical background ................................................................................. 24 1.6 What and why .............................................................................................. 30 1.6.1 Basic features of the Draft Law on the Autonomy of Szeklerland .......... 30 1.6.2 Driving forces behind Szekler autonomy aspirations .............................. 32 Chapter 2 .................................................................................................................. 54 2 Autonomy and the Constitution of a Nation state .......................................... 54 2.1 Romanian Constitutional traditions ............................................................. 54 2.1.1 Liberal Constitutionalism ........................................................................ 54 2.1.2 Communist period.................................................................................... 58 2.1.3 Post-communist period ............................................................................ 59 2.1.4 Constitution in force ................................................................................ 60 2.2 Opinion No. 102/2004 - The essential summary of all arguments .............. 62 2.2.1 General objections ................................................................................... 62 2.2.2 Procedural objections ............................................................................... 65 2.3 Decision No. 80/2014 of the Constitutional Court of Romania rejecting the constitutional amendments proposed by the Special Committee of the Parliament - The Constitutional Court and the recognition of the national ideal ........................ 66 2.4 Political Assertions ...................................................................................... 68 2.5 Similar approaches ...................................................................................... 72 Chapter 3 .................................................................................................................. 78 3 Deconstructing the constitutional barrier ....................................................... 78 3.1 Reactions to Opinion No. 102 ..................................................................... 78 3.1.1 Reactions to General objections .............................................................. 78 3.1.2 Reactions to Procedural objections .......................................................... 86 3.2 Reactions to Decision Nr. 80/2014 .............................................................. 89 3.3 The Eye of the Duck - Legal entrenchment................................................. 91 Chapter 4 ................................................................................................................ 108 4 Conclusions ...................................................................................................... 108 Chapter 5 ................................................................................................................ 112 5 Policy implications ........................................................................................... 112 5.1 Romanian state .......................................................................................... 115 5.2 Minority community .................................................................................. 118 5.3 Kin-state .................................................................................................... 119 5.4 International community ........................................................................... 121 Annexes ................................................................................................................... 123 Bibliography ........................................................................................................... 127 Publications by the Author on the Topic ............................................................. 138 List of tables and figures Tables Table 1 Demographic trends of Hungarian minority communities 123 living in countries adjacent to Hungary (1989-2011) Figures Figure 1 Administrative borders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire 123 Figure 2 Territorial changes due to the 1st, and 2nd Vienna Arbitrations 124 in 1938, and 1940 Figure 3 Changing borders of the Hungarian Autonomous Province in 124 communist Romania Figure 4 Ethnic distribution of Transylvania (1910-1977) 125 Figure 5 Ethnic distribution of Transylvania (2002) 126 Acknowledgements I can consider myself honoured to have been supervised by dr. Elisabeth Kardos Kaponyi, whose delicate balance of encouragement and criticism helped me to keep my scientific focus on track. I am also pleased to acknowledge the scientific and/or theoretical support of a number of researchers, academics, and university professors as well as diplomats and politicians across Europe. In alphabetical order these are: Bakk Miklós, Bárdi Nándor, Bárður Larsen, Blahó András, Graham Donnelly, Gordos Árpád, Günther Rautz, György- Mózes Árpád, Heidi Öst, Izsák Balázs, Kántor Zoltán, Kardos Gábor, Kiss Eszter, Lauri Hannikeinen, Markku Suksi, Richard Berry, Sarah Stephan, Sergiu Constantin, Tom Mullen, Varga Attila. I had the privilege to base this dissertation on research conducted in some of the most renowned scientific centres, such as the European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen (EURAC), the University of Glasgow, or the Åbo Akademi in Finland. Furthermore, the methodological guidelines of the Corvinus University of Budapest proved to be particularly useful throughout the whole research process. Equally essential was the financial support provided by the Balassi Institute, the Erasmus Traineeship scheme of the EU, as well as the Szekler National Council, through which I was able to conduct my research abroad. Writing this dissertation entailed considerable periods of absence from home, placing additional burden on my relatives. Consequently, I express my most sincere gratitude to my family, and most of all to my wife Melinda, for her unconditional support and patience throughout this long process. 8 Abbreviations CCR Constitutional Court of Romania CCS Constitutional Court of Spain CI Constitution of Italy CR Constitution of Romania CS Constitution of Spain CLRA Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe CoE Council of Europe DAHR Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania DIICOT Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (Direcția de Investigare a Infracțiunilor de Criminalitate Organizatăși Terorism) DNA National Anticorruption Directorate (Direcţia Naţională Anticorupţie) DOM-TOM Overseas Departments and Territories (départements et territoires d'outre-mer) DL Draft Law on Autonomy of the Szekler National Council DSF Day of the Szekler Freedom ECHR European Convention on Human Rights EU European Union FCPNM Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights LCM Legislative Consent Motion 9 NGO Non-governmental organization NSAC New Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe PACE Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe PD Democratic Party (Partidul Democrat) PDL National Liberal Party (Partidul Naţional Liberal) PSD Social Democratic Party (Partidul Social Democrat) SzNC Szekler National Council SRI Romanian Intelligence Service (Serviciul Român de Informaţii) TA Territorial Autonomy UN United Nations Venice Commission European Commission for Democracy through Law 10 Chapter 1 1 Introduction 1.1 Relevance and structure of the analysis With approximately 650.000 members, the Hungarian-speaking Szekler community is one of the largest nationalities of Europe that has not yet obtained any kind of autonomy. The many public protests, demonstrations, the numerous drafts, programs and manifestos of Hungarian political organizations,