The protection of the human rights of national minorities is essential for the general realization of human rights. The decisions and judgments of the ECtHR have a direct impact on how these rights are enforced or violated in European countries. The ECtHR’s jurisprudence can not only serve to protect human rights, but can also contribute to the promotion of social peace, international cooperation and the rule of law. All these are unattainable for a country that does not respect and apply the rights of national minorities.

My aim is to present the decisions and judgments of the ECtHR and to understand their impact and development in the field of human rights of national minorities. The thesis aims to answer several important questions, such as how the ECtHR's jurisprudence in the field of human rights of national minorities has evolved over the past decades, how the ECtHR's decisions and judgments have affected the legal status and protection of national minorities in

European countries and to provide an overall assessment of the the ECtHR's role in promoting and protecting the human rights of national minorities.