Înscrierea unui copil la grădiniță cu predare în limba maghiară: tatăl, român, mama maghiară
Enrolling a child in a Hungarian language kindergarten: Romanian father, Hungarian mother

Summary/Abstract: In this article I analyze a series of decisions of the courts in Cluj regarding a sensitive and potentially controversial subject: in which language should a child study when the parents (Hungarian mother, Romanian father) disagree? The case lies at the intersection of children’s rights and the rights of national minorities. Invoking the principle of the best interests of the child, in all decisions issued so far, the courts have decided that the minor should study exclusively in the Romanian language, arguing that it is beneficial for her development to study primarily the majority language and culture. In my analysis, I question the correctness of the decisions taken by courts because they do not take into account other rights of the child (the right to identity and the right to learn in one’s mother tongue) and the Council of Europe’s recommendations on linguistic rights. The analyzed judgments are just a few of a long series of decisions of Romanian courts that either ignore the international conventions signed and ratified by Romania or interpret in bad faith the national legislation in a manner unfavorable to national minorities.

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