with the Province of Trento to form an Autonomous Region. The Italian language group was thus in the majority and was able to overrule the political motions of the German- and Ladin-speaking minority. Around 1960, separatists carried out bomb attacks on electricity pylons. Later, there were also fatalities. Meanwhile, Austria brought the South Tyrol issue to the UN General Assembly in New York. Only due to the great international attention and the support by our kin-state Austria the situation changed. Crucial for this development have been the two UN resolutions no. 1497 and 1661. They were the starting point for re-negotiations between Italy and Austria. After a first unsatisfying attempt, in 1972 a second autonomy Statute for South Tyrol came into force. The Second Autonomy Statute transferred most of the legislative and administrative powers to the Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen – Südtirol and is considered the fundamental law for South Tyrol’s autonomy. It brought significant improvements in terms of political, financial, cultural and economic self-government. Today, many experts and politicians are visiting South Tyrol to study our autonomy and we are pleased to be able to consult international organizations, minorities, indigenous peoples and states all over the world. Of course, South Tyrol's autonomy cannot be exported 1 by 1. Every region has its own specificities to consider. Nevertheless, there are some provisions and instruments, which are adaptable also to other realities: First of all, we have a very dynamic concept of autonomy. Legally speaking, the Second Autonomy Statute of 1972 has constitutional rank and therefore ordinary law can neither interfere with nor change the provisions within the Statute. We implemented the autonomy over time mainly by so-called ‘enactment decrees’ elaborated by special commissions and bilateral negotiations with the state. The work in the commissions has been very successful, as the members represent the Italian state and South Tyrol on a numerical level and all different language groups are present.

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