The Views of the Swiss State and of the Romanian State on the Protection of National Minorities: A Romanian Perspective

The study makes a comparative analysis on the Swiss and Romanian system of protection of national minorities. It highlights the conceptual differences between the two approaches, still remaining in the framework of the European conventions on the matter. If Romania prefers to use the notions of national or ethnic to address its minorities, Switzerland has chosen the concept of linguistic and cultural minorities as more appropriate with its history and political tradition. Switzerland designed a system of minorities’ protection in several layers, focused on the protection of historical French, Italian, Romanch and German minorities, while Romania created an uniform system of protection, equal for all its minorities.