Autonomia personale e autonomia territoriale: alcune riflessioni in chiave comparata in tema di tutela delle minoranze

Abstract

Personal autonomy and territorial autonomy: some reflections in a comparative key on the subject of protection of minorities – When the personal (cultural) autonomy granted to members of a minority group and territorial autonomy are taken into consideration these two facets are either distinctive or can be integrated in a third perspective. An example of the first kind of autonomy is provided by Hungary, where there is a form of non-territorial protection of the institutions of minority self-government and membership is an exclusively voluntary fact. The second type is emblematic both in sub-national jurisdictions - where a sort of asymmetry between state subjects is realized, as in the case of Italian special autonomies or Spanish historical nationalities - and in multinational systems – where it contributes to the realization of an equal federal state structure - even though exceptions exist, as in the case of the Federation of Russia. In accordance with the comparative law perspective, the present contribution aims at verifying whether personal autonomy and territorial autonomy should be considered alternative legal models or instead there is a unique legal model of autonomy capable of realizing effective political participation of minorities (art. 15 Framework Convention of the Council of Europe).