One of the major developments in the Balkan region after the 90s was the adoption of the constitutions which brought the expansion of the judicial power through the constitutionalization of rights and judicial review practices. Even though their constitutions have been adopted according to western models, the space that Balkan constitutions provide for their minority rights may vary from one country to the other having in this way a relevant impact on the citizens to exercise their rights.
This multifaceted point in question asks for an all-round analysis through questions such as: Which is the space provided for the minorities in the Balkan constitutions? To what extent the minorities have rights and how do they exercise them? Do the courts have jurisdictions to adjudicate on these rights? I propose a comparative study of five countries in the Balkan region as Albania, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. I will argue that the less political the constitution, the stronger the courts, the more autonomous is the access to the courts and the stronger the minority rights. What I propose is to look at the juridical strategies adopted by minorities mobilized by the opposition or other groups.
