Equality of Nationalities in Austria 1848-1918

This book emerged from the author`s contribution of 231 pages to the collective work Die Habsburgermonarchie 1848-1918, published by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (vol.III, 1980), enlarged by a new introduction of 16 pages as well as an edition of sources of 67 pages. Central theme of the book is the principle of the equal rights of nationalities, which, as the famous Czech historian František Palack said, entered in 1848 the history of Austria. The book describes the early mention of this principles in the constitutional documents of 1848/49. Definitively, this principle was fixed in the Austrian December constitution of 1867. Art. 19 of the Fundamental Law on the Rights of Citizens (part of this constitution), determined not only the equal rights of nationalities, but also the equal rights of the languages used in the crownlands in school, public office and in public life. As first state in Europe, Austria (as distinguished from Hungary) granted its citizens the right to file suits (complaints) before the Imperial Court (predecesor of the later Constitutional Court) due to the violation of constitutionally guaranteed rights. Numerous suits concerned the violation of the equal rights of nationalities or languages used in crownlands. Adjudication of these suits, as well as analogous adjudication by the Supreme Tribunal of Administration, has been analysed in this book on the basis of the minutes of the confidential deliberations of the Courts. The author in this work distinguishes the two major parts of the law of nationalities: language law and the law of national autonomy. The last part of the book deals with new trends of national autonomy (personal autonomy so- called) in individual crownlands, notably in Moravia and Bukovina.