(1) (a) In regulating the rights and duties of persons belonging to national minorities living on their territories, the Contracting Parties undertake to apply the Framework Convention of the Council of Europe for the protection of national minorities, if more favourable provisions concerning the rights of persons belonging to national minorities do not exist in their domestic legislation.
(b) Without prejudice to the contents of the preceding paragraph, the Contracting Parties shall, with the aim of protecting and developing the ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity of the Hungarian minority in Romania and the Romanian minority in Hungary, apply as legal obligations the provisions defining the rights of persons belonging to such minorities as contained in the documents of the United Nations, the Organisation on Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe ...
(2) The Contracting Parties reconfirm accordingly, that these (minorities) shall have, individually or in community with other members of their group, the right to freely express, preserve, and develop their ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity. Accordingly, they shall have the right to establish and maintain their own educational, cultural and religious institutions, organisations and associations which are entitled to seek voluntary financial and other contributions, as well as public support in accordance with the domestic legislation.
(3) The Contracting Parties shall respect the right of (these) persons ... to use freely both orally and in writing their mother tongue in private and in public. They shall take the necessary measures to ensure that such persons can learn their mother tongue and have adequate opportunities for being educated and trained in this language at all levels and forms within the framework of the State education system, according to their needs. The Contracting Parties shall ensure the conditions allowing the use also of the mother tongue of these persons in their relations with local administrative and judicial authorities, in accordance with the domestic legislation and the international obligations the Contracting Parties have subscribed to. These persons shall have the right to use their surnames and first names in their mother tongue and to have them officially recognised. In areas where persons belonging to the minority concerned live in a substantial number, both Parties shall allow the display, also in the language of the minorities, the traditional local denominations, street names and other topographical indications intended for the public.
(4) The Contracting Parties shall respect the right of (these) persons ... to have access, in their mother tongue, to information and to the electronic and printed media, as well as to freely exchange and disseminate information. The Contracting Parties shall, within the framework of their domestic legislation, grant the possibility to establish and operate their own media.
(5) The Contracting Parties shall ensure the right of (these) persons ... to effectively participate, individually or through their parties or organisations, in the political, economic, social and cultural life and through their representatives elected to central and local public authorities and administrations, in the settlement of issues representing national or local interests. Both Contracting Parties shall, in the process of decision-making concerning questions related to the protection and enforcement of the national identity of these persons, consult the organisations, political parties or associations of these persons according to democratic decision-making procedures as provided by the law.
(6) The Contracting Parties shall respect the cultural and historical heritage of the national minorities and shall support their efforts to preserve the architectural monuments and memorial sites related to minority culture and history, and will take appropriate measures to allow citizens living in regions of mixed population to become acquainted with Hungarian and Romanian cultural values.
(7) The Contracting Parties shall respect the rights of (these) persons ... to maintain free contracts among themselves and across frontiers with citizens of other States, as well as to participate in the activities of national and international non-governmental organisations.
(8) The Contracting Parties agree that, in the exercise of their rights ... (these) persons ... similarly to any other citizen of the state concerned, shall respect the national legislation and the rights of others. These persons shall enjoy the same rights and have the same duties of citizenship as other citizens of the State in which they live.
(9) Without prejudice to measures taken in pursuance of their general integration policy, the Contracting Parties shall refrain from policies or practices aimed at the assimilation of persons belonging to national minorities against their will and shall protect these persons from any action aiming at such assimilation. They shall further refrain from measures which by altering the proportions of the population in areas inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities are aimed at restricting the rights and freedoms flowing from the international standards and norms listed in paragraph 1 of this article.
(10) The Contracting Parties shall assist each other in observing the implementation of the present article. For this purpose they will also examine, in the framework of the regular consultations referred to in Article 5 of this Treaty, those questions of their bilateral cooperation related to national minorities concerning the implementation of this Treaty and shall establish an intergovernmental expert commission. They will cooperate in the appropriate operation of the mechanisms of the Organisation on Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe verifying compliance with obligations contained in the documents of these organisations and to which the Parties have entered into.
(11) The Contracting Parties shall cooperate in further developing the international legal framework for the protection of national minorities. They agree that they will apply as part of this Treaty the provisions ... contained in those international documents to which they will subscribe in the future.
(12) Neither of the obligations shall be interpreted as implying any right to engage in any activity of perform any act contrary to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, other obligations of international law or the Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, including the principle of the territorial integrity of states.
