Violations of constitutional rights of the Hungarian minority in the Slovak Republic in the period 1994–1998

The Slovak Republic is a state in which a significant proportion of the population is of Hungarian nationality. The aim of the article is to analyse cases of violations of the constitutional rights and freedoms of the Hungarian minority between 1994 and 1998. Both the constitution of the Slovak Republic, adopted in 1992, and the acts of international law to which Slovakia is a party guarantee the rights and freedoms of national minorities and ethnic groups. Between 1994 and 1998, Slovakia was ruled by a coalition government headed by Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar, whose policies led to Slovakia’s isolation in the international arena. During this period, the policy of the Slovak government aimed, on the one hand, at completely marginalising the opposition and, on the other, at restricting the rights of Slovak Hungarians. The study uses the case study method and institutional-legal analysis.