Bonn-Copenhagen Declarations
Notification concerning the general rights of the German
minority
On behalf of the Government, the Prime Minister and Foreign
Minister submitted to the Danish Parliament (Folketing) on
Desiring to promote peaceful relations between the population on
both sides of the Danish-German border and thus also the development of
friendly relations between the Kingdom of Denmark and the Federal Republic of
Germany and referring to Article 14 of the European Convention on Human rights,
pursuant to which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be
secured without discrimination in respect of association with a national
minority the Royal Danish Government issues the following declaration
confirming the legal principles already applicable to this minority - as also
set forth in the declaration made by the then Danish Prime Minister Hans
Hedtoft to representatives of the German minority in Northern Schleswig on 27
October 1949 (the so-called Copenhagen Note):
I.
Under Danish law the Basic Law of the
1.
The right to inviolability of the liberty of the individual;
2.
equality before the law;
3.
freedom of faith and of conscience;
4.
the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press;
5.
freedom of assembly and association;
6.
the right freely to choose his occupation and place of work;
7.
inviolability of the home;
8.
the right freely to establish political parties;
9.
equal eligibility for any public office according to his
aptitude,qualifications and professional achievements, i.e. in the case of
civil servants, employees and workers in the public service no distinction may
be made between members of the German minority and other citizens;
10.
the right to general, direct, equal, free and secret elections,
which shall also apply to local elections;
11.
the right to have recourse to the court if he considers that his
rights have been violated by public authority;
12.
the right to equal treatment, pursuant to which no one may be
disadvantaged or favoured because of his parentage, his language, his origin,
or his political opinions.
II.
In execution of these legal principles it is herewith stated
that:
1.
It shall be possible freely to profess one's loyalty to the
German people and German culture and such a profession of loyalty shall not be
contested or verified by an official authority.
2.
Members of the German minority and their organizations may not
be hindered from speaking and writing the language of their choice. Ihe use of
the German language in courts and administrative agencies shall be governed by
the relevant legal provisions.
3.
General schools and (also specialist) adult education centres as
well as kindergartens may, in line with the relevant legal provisions, be set
up by the German minority pursuant to the principle of the freedom of teaching
in force in Denmark.
4.
Since, under local Legislation, the committees of local
representative bodies are set up on the basis of proportional representation,
representatives of the German minority shall be involved in committee work in
proportion to their numbers.
5.
The Danish Government recommends that the German minority be
duly taken into consideration within the framework of the rules in force on the
use of radio.
6.
In respect of assistance and other benefits from public funds on
which a discretionary decision is taken, the members of the German minority
shall not be treated differently forrn other citizens.
7.
In respect of public notifications the newspapers of the German
minority should be duly taken into consideration.
8.
The special interest of the German minority in fostering
contacts with
The Danish Parliament (Folketinget) approved this declaration by
decision of
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Statement of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
concerning the rights of the Danish minority.*)
Desiring to promote peaceful relations between the population on
both sides of the German-Danish border and thus also the development of
friendly relations
between the
and considering the obligation under
international law into which the Federal Republic of Germany has entered by
virtue of its accession to the European Convention on Human Rights in respect
of the obligation not to discriminate against national minorities (Article 14),
the Government of the Federal Republic of
Germany issues the following declaration in the spirit of the principles, also
laid down in the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, to which the
Government of Schleswig-Holstein referred in its declaration of
I
Like all citizens, the members of the minority shall enjoy the
rights guaranteed in the Basic Law of the Federal Repubhc of Germany of
1.
The right to inviolability of the liberty of the individual;
2.
Equality before the law;
3.
freedom of faith and of conscience;
4.
the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press;
5.
freedom of assembly and association;
6.
the right freely to choose their occupation and place of work;
7.
inviolability of the home;
8.
the right freely to establish political parties;
9.
equal eligibility for any public office according to their
aptitude,qualifications and professional achievements; in the case of civil
servants, employees and workers in the public service no distinction may be
made between members of the Danish minority and other citizens;
10.
the right to general, direct, free, equal and secret elections,
which shall also apply to regional and local elections;
11.
the right to have recourse to the court in the event of their
rights being violated by public authority;
12.
the right to equal treatment, pursuant to which no one may be
disadvantaged because of his parentage, his language, his origin or his
political opinions.
II.
In execution of these legal principles it is herewith stated
that:
1.
It shall be possible to freely to profess one's loyalty to the
Danish people and Danish Culture and such a profession of loyalty shall not be
contested or verified by an official authority.
2.
Members of the Danish minority and their organizations may not
be hindered from speaking and writing the language of their choice. The use of
the Danish language in courts and administrative agencies shall be governed by
the relevant legal provisions.
3.
In respect of financial assistance and other benefits from
public funds on which a discretionary decision is taken, members of the Danish
minority may not be treated differently from other citizens.
4.
The special interest of the Danish minority in fostering
contacts with
III.
The Federal Government gives notice that the Government of
Schleswig-Holstein has informed it of the following:
1.
Since, under local legislation, the committees of local
representative bodies are set up on the basis of proportional representation,
representatives of the Danish minority shall be involved in committee work in
proportion to their numbers.
2.
The Government of the Federal German state recommends that the
Danish minority be duly taken into consideration within the framework of the
rules in force on the use of radio.
3.
In respect of public notifications the newspapers of the Danish
minority should be duly taken into consideration.
4.
In Schleswig-Holstein general schools and (also specialist)
adult cducation centres as well as kindergartens may be set up by the Danish
minority in line with the relevant legal provisions. At schools where teaching
is in Danish adequate teaching shall be given in the German language.
Parents and persons legally responsible for a child's education
may decide freely whether their children are to attend schools where teaching
is in Danish.
*) Thus the statement is published in "Der
Bundesanzeiger", no. 63, 31 March 1955 and in "Amtsblatt für
Schleswig-Holstein", 23 April 1955.