The European Court of Human Rights and minority rights

Article is part of a special issue on minority rights in an expanding EU.
Article abstract:

In spite of the absence of a specific provision on minority rights in the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols, the European Court of Human Rights has reviewed, since its early activity, several cases concerning minority issues. Article 14 of the Convention guarantees the right not to be discriminated against in the enjoyment of Convention rights on the ground, inter alia, of belonging to a national minority, language, religion and national origin. In addition, the Court has afforded some protection to minorities especially by means of other provisions of the Convention, such as Articles 10 (right to freedom of expression), 11 (right to freedom of association) and 8 (right to family life). The present article contains a review of the main case law of the European Court of Human Rights concerning minority rights, in particular identity, linguistic and cultural rights as well as the political participation of minority groups.