The basic legal framework of the issue is the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms and the subsequent Act on the Rights of Members of National Minorities, which defines national minorities and guarantees the exercise of rights by their members. It is based on the basic premise that no harm may result from membership of a national minority.
Are you solving a similar problem?
Do you believe your rights have been violated?
We will conduct a careful analysis of the case and take care of the preparation of a pre-suit notice, a lawsuit, an appeal, or even representation in court, where we will vigorously enforce your rights.
I want advice on a lawsuit
- When you order, you know what you will get and how much it will cost.
- We handle everything online or in person at one of our 6 offices.
- We handle 8 out of 10 requests within 2 working days.
- We have specialists for every field of law.
What is the difference between nationality and citizenship?
Let us first explain the basic concepts underlying the legislation:
Nationality
Nationality is understood as belonging to a nation, nationality or ethnic minority. The bottom line is that anyone can choose which nationality they belong to and can even claim multiple nationalities. Thus, it may happen that of two siblings living in Olomouc, one claims the Moravian nationality and the other the Czech nationality. Neither the place of birth, nor the place of residence, nor the mother tongue is decisive, but only one’s own relationship to the nationality. On the other hand, declaring a certain nationality can be perceived as a certain stigma in the Czech Republic, which is particularly felt by the Roma, of whom roughly 22 000 claim the Romani nationality, although the number of members of this ethnic group here is estimated to be as high as 300 000.
Citizenship
Nationality is often confused with citizenship. Here, however, the difference is significant. Nationality conveys membership of a state and allows citizens to participate in the governance of the state, primarily through elections. Initial citizenship is usually acquired from the parents to whom one is born. If we decide to become a citizen of another country, it is not always easy. However, under certain circumstances, we can have more than one citizenship, which in some states can be obtained, for example, by marriage. In the Czech Republic, however, there is no such possibility of acquiring citizenship in the law.
Czech citizenship can be acquired:
- by birth,
- by adoption,
- by establishing paternity,
- by being found on the territory of the Czech Republic,
- by declaration,
- in connection with entrustment to institutional, foster or other forms of substitute care,
- granting on application.
There is a general idea among people that a child born in a certain country automatically acquires citizenship there. However, this is far from being the case. Two principles are used to determine the nationality of a newborn: ius sangui and ius soli.
Czech law (and most of Europe, Africa and Asia) is based on the principle of ius sangui (literally the law of blood) to determine citizenship. In practice, this means that a child born to two Czechs will have Czech citizenship regardless of whether he or she was born in Brussels, Russia or on a plane. Conversely, if a Ukrainian woman who has a child with her Ukrainian partner gives birth in our country, their offspring will not automatically acquire Czech citizenship.
The opposite of the above principle is ius soli (translated as the law of the land). This too is applied in our country to a very limited extent: a child whose parents are both stateless (i.e. homeless in the international legal sense, where the person in question has no citizenship) would acquire Czech citizenship, or if a child under the age of three is found on Czech territory and whose identity and parents are unknown. Otherwise, the principle of ius soli appears mainly in the Anglo-American legal area and parts of Europe. The place of birth of the child is essential for the nationality of the newborn. A child born to two Czechs in the US may (subject to certain conditions) have US citizenship.
Nationality
Nationality and citizenship are often linked to the concept of nationality. And there are often various confusions between these three terms. So what is nationality and how does it differ from nationality and citizenship?
Nationality is a legal relationship between an individual (natural person) or a legal person and a state that establishes the subject’s subordination to the legal order of that state. This relationship determines that the state has certain obligations towards the national (e.g. protection abroad) and the national has certain obligations towards the state (e.g. compliance with laws, payment of taxes).
Nationality vs citizenship
These terms tend to be most often confused and are also the most similar. Nationality is a concept broader in content than citizenship, as it includes legal persons belonging to a given state. In contrast, nationality is a concept defined only for natural persons. The concept of nationality is most often encountered in the context of international law.
Nationality vs. nationality
Nationality and nationality are quite different from each other. Nationality expresses where a person internally classifies himself or herself. It is therefore mainly a cultural and historical identity, which is linked to language, traditions, religion, common history or origin. But it does not play a role in terms of rights and duties. On the other hand, nationality is officially valid information expressing the legal relationship between an individual and the state, which brings with it specific rights and obligations.
Tip for article
As citizens of the Czech Republic, we are also citizens of the European Union. How much power does the EU have and on what principles does EU law work? Find out in our next article.
National minority
From nationality we come to the concept of a national minority, which is characterised within the Czech Republic as a community of citizens of the Czech Republic living in the territory of the present-day Czech Republic who differ from other citizens, as a rule, by their common ethnic origin, language, culture and traditions, form a numerical minority of the population and at the same time show a will to be considered a national minority.
Let us highlight two basic facts:
- national minorities in the context of the Act on the Protection of National Minorities are citizens of the Czech Republic, i.e. they are not tourists, visitors or refugees
- what matters is their own will to be considered a national minority.
Tip for article
Every citizen of the Czech Republic has social rights that no one can take away. In reality, however, many of us have them restricted in some way. Read what social rights are and what social exclusion is.
Citizens of a foreign state in the Czech Republic
It is quite obvious that there are many citizens of foreign states who belong to foreign nationalities on our territory. Their number has now increased dramatically as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as a result of which several hundred thousand Ukrainian citizens have arrived on our territory in recent months.
The authorities estimate that by 2025 there will be just over 590 000 Ukrainians in the country, which represents the largest number of foreign nationals in our country. Nevertheless, it is not the largest national minority within the meaning of the above-mentioned law. Everything will depend on future developments, possibilities and mutual will to stay here and obtain Czech citizenship (or not). However, it is very likely that the Ukrainian national minority will grow in the future.
Rights of national minorities
National minorities can participate in public administration and have an active role in cultural, social and economic life. To this end, the Government establishes its advisory body, the Government Council for National Minorities, chaired by a member of the Government whose competence includes the human rights agenda; if no such member is appointed, the Prime Minister is the chairman of the Council. Its members are representatives of public authorities (the Office of the Ombudsman, a representative of the Union of Towns and Municipalities, etc.) and representatives of national minorities nominated by their members’ associations.
The basic range of rights is laid down by law. These include, inter alia:
- free choice of belonging to a national minority – no harm may result from belonging to a minority,
- the right of association – in national or political associations,
- participation in matters concerning the national minority – active participation in cultural, social and economic life and in public affairs,
- the use of the language of the national minority in official relations, before the courts and in electoral matters. This right is further specified in individual regulations. For example, the Tax Code and the Administrative Code in this sense allow a citizen of the Czech Republic belonging to a national minority that has traditionally and long lived in the territory of the Czech Republic to make submissions and act in the language of his or her national minority. If the administrative authority or tax administrator does not have an official person familiar with the language of the national minority, it shall procure an interpreter registered in the list of interpreters. However, the Slovak language has a specific status on a par with the Czech language. According to the Code of Civil Procedure, parties have the right to act before the court in their mother tongue. The court shall appoint an interpreter for a party whose mother tongue is a language other than Czech as soon as such a need becomes apparent in the proceedings
- education in the language of the national minority – in schools, pre-schools and educational establishments. The right to establish private schools with the language of instruction in the language of a national minority or with the language of a national minority as a subject of instruction and private pre-school or school establishments may also be exercised. These rights are further regulated by the Law on School Establishments.
Implementation and protection of the rights of national minorities
The Law on the Rights of National Minorities does not itself contain any sanctions for violation of rights. Assessing whether or not minority rights have been violated is often a legal tricky task. The Minorities Act is not the only and comprehensive implementing law in relation to the Charter, as it itself refers to other laws. Complex legal questions often arise as to which law prevails at any given time and how to assess the situation. It is certainly worth consulting an attorney in such a situation who can properly assess the situation. As this is a right enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, it is theoretically possible to take the enforcement of this right all the way to the Constitutional Court, where representation by a lawyer is necessary for the hearing.
Summary
National minorities in the Czech Republic are based on the premise that nationality is a personal belonging to a nation or ethnic group of one’s own choosing (one can claim multiple nationalities), while citizenship and nationality are a legal relationship to the state from which specific rights and obligations arise (e.g. czech citizenship is usually acquired by birth through parents and Czech law is based mainly on the principle of ius sanguinis, only exceptionally on ius soli. In Czech law, a national minority is a community of citizens of the Czech Republic who differ from the majority of the population in language, culture, traditions, form a numerical minority and wish to be perceived as a minority; they are therefore neither tourists nor refugees, although, for example, Ukrainian citizens now constitute a numerically very significant group of foreigners and some of them may eventually become a national minority within the meaning of the law. The basic legal framework is provided by the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms and the Law on the Rights of Members of National Minorities, which is based on the principle that no one may suffer harm as a result of belonging to a minority and guarantees, in particular, the right to freely choose one’s nationality, the right to associate in national and political organisations, to participate in public, cultural and other activities, social and economic life (inter alia, through the Government Council for National Minorities), the right to use the language of the minority in official dealings, in courts and in elections (including the provision of an interpreter, with special status for Slovak) and the right to education in the language of the minority, including the establishment of schools and educational establishments in the minority language. However, the protection of these rights is complex, as the Minority Law does not contain its own sanctions and refers to other regulations, so it is often necessary to combine several legal instruments and in case of serious interference with fundamental rights, the situation can only be resolved by a constitutional complaint, where representation by a lawyer is already mandatory.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the concepts of nationality and nationality?
In layman’s terms: nationality is the legal link to a particular country, while nationality is your personal, cultural and historical identity. Nationality determines which legal system applies to you, which country protects you abroad and where you have the right to vote. Nationality, on the other hand, describes which group you belong to internally – by language, culture, traditions or origin. You can have only one nationality (sometimes two) but feel you belong to more than one. This is why Czech law explicitly forbids you to incur any detriment because of your nationality.
What is nationality and where do I find out what nationality I have?
It is a legal relationship between you and the state. It gives you rights (e.g. protection abroad, the right to vote) and responsibilities (compliance with the law, taxes). Czech nationality means you are legally bound to the Czech Republic – you will find it written on your ID card or passport. For example, if you are a permanent resident of the Czech Republic, but your documents show a different nationality, you are a foreigner with the right of residence, not a citizen of the Czech Republic. This is also key in assessing whether you fall under the protection of the Minority Rights Act.
What is a nationality and how is it related to a national minority?
In Czech law, it is mainly an internal personal choice – what nation or ethnic group you yourself belong to. It is not determined by the state, place of birth or mother tongue, but by your own identity. At the same time, declaring your nationality cannot be a reason for discrimination. If a larger group of citizens of the Czech Republic of the same nationality has long been distinguished by language, culture and traditions and has the will to be perceived as such, a national minority is formed. The Act on the Rights of Members of National Minorities, which grants them special linguistic and cultural rights, remembers them.
How are nationality and citizenship related to minorities in the Czech Republic?
Citizenship (or nationality) is a legal relationship to the state, nationality is a personal identity. In the Czech Republic, you can have Czech nationality and at the same time claim to be a Roma, Vietnamese, Polish or other nationality. It is the combination “citizen of the Czech Republic + other than majority nationality” that is typical for members of national minorities. If you are a foreigner without Czech citizenship, you may have your basic rights as a human being, but you will only achieve some specific rights of national minorities (e.g. participation in certain bodies or activities) when you acquire Czech citizenship.
What nationalities live in the Czech Republic and who is protected as a national minority?
Various nationalities have lived in the Czech Republic for a long time – Romani, Slovak, Polish, German, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, and others. However, only some of them act as national minorities within the meaning of the law: they must be a community of citizens of the Czech Republic that differs in language, culture and traditions and has the will to be considered a minority. So if you have Czech nationality but a different nationality, you can participate in the activities of your minority, enjoy your linguistic and cultural rights and defend yourself in case of discrimination – for example with the help of a lawyer.
