Table of contents
1. Introduction – 2. A complex of issues united by the unity of the solution: the downsizing of the right of self-determination of peoples in favour of the principle of participatory autonomy. Definitional impasses and models of protection – 3. The palingenesis of legal systems: from the Austro-Hungarian empire to EU law, through the eye of fascism and the atypical legal socialism of the Western Balkans – 4. The cultural neo-humanism of national legislations in the Italian, Croatian, Slovenian area. a) Italian border legislation; b) Regional legislation of Friuli-Venezia Giulia; c) Croatian and Slovenian national legislation; d) Cross-border statutes of autonomy of nationalities (Region of Istria; City of Rovinj; Municipality of Isola and Pirano; City of Capodistria). Progressive centrality of local legislation in the Italian, Croatian, Slovenian comparative framework – 5. European legislation on the rediscovery of the “human dimension” and the pro-European turning point of Slovenia and Croatia - 6. International legislation: from the theoretical recognition of the “identity rights” of minorities national authorities to the implementation of judicial protections – 7. Foresight of the concordat policy in the Western Balkans with regard to issues of freedom of minorities. Ecclesiastical legislation in the Julian-Dalmatian area

Abstract
The article examines the European, Italian, Slovenian and Croatian legislation aimed at the protection of the cultural identity of the minorities settled in the Julian-Dalmatian area