THE PROBLEMS OF MINORITIES IN MUSEUMS’ ACTIVITIES (LEGAL ASPECTS)

Within the scope of their activity, somemuseums deal with the protection and dissemination of thecultural heritages of various minority groups. These includeboth museums which focus their attention on minorityproblems as such (e.g. museums run by minority churchesor denominations), and those museums which deal withsuch issues to a greater or lesser extent because of theirstatutory objectives related to the cultural heritage of particularminorities (e.g. ethnographic museums).The provisions of the Act on museums do not include clearregulations with regard to the subject of minorities. Therefore,the provisions are construed with respect to other norms, relevantto the minorities’ activities. From among those provisions,these that deserve particular attention are, above all,provisions specifying the activities of NGOs, including associationsand foundations, under which they frequently operate.Secondly, of importance are acts which specifically regulatethe basis for how given minorities operate, i.e. especially theAct on national and ethnic minorities and on regional languages,the Act concerning the guarantees of conscience andreligion, as well as those acts which determine the State’sapproach towards particular churches and denominations.Formally, the extent to which a museum engages in a significantactivity regarding a given minority is determinedby the basic acts issued by the its administrator, which serveas the basis for its operation. Those include statutes (in thecase of museums which are legal persons) or regulations (inthe case of other museums).When a museum’s statute provides for such minority activity,its administrator is obliged to provide funding for it,regardless of additional financial support, in particular thatcoming from grants, and above all the one stipulated in thearticle 18 of the Act on national and ethnic minorities andon regional languages