16 GORZELIK AND OTHERS v. POLAND JUDGMENT It must be stressed that even in the explanatory report to the [Framework Convention] it is clearly stated that the individual's subjective choice to belong to a national minority is inseparably linked to objective criteria relevant to the person's identity. That means that a given nation must exist prior to the individual making a decision to belong to this nation. That being so, the applicants' application for their association to be registered must be seen as a thoughtless and incomprehensible attempt to exploit the distinct characteristics [of the Silesians] with a view to achieving political aims.” 35. On 28 November 1997 the prosecutor at the Katowice Court of Appeal filed a pleading in reply to the applicants' appeal on points of law. He submitted, among other things, that it was clear that the content of the memorandum of association was contrary to the law since it explicitly stated that the Union was an association of a national minority, and thus ignored the fact that the Silesians could not be regarded as a minority of that kind. The Silesians, being merely an ethnic group, could not exercise the rights conferred on national minorities, in particular those referred to in the 1993 Elections Act. 36. On 18 March 1998 the Administrative, Labour and Social Security Division of the Supreme Court, sitting as a panel of three judges, dismissed the applicants' appeal on points of law. The relevant parts of the reasons for this decision read as follows: “... [A] necessary prerequisite for the registration of an association is the conformity of its memorandum of association with the entire domestic legal order, including conformity with [the provisions of ] international treaties ratified by Poland. In the present case the Court of Appeal had no doubts as to the lawfulness of the aims pursued by [the applicants'] association, but refused to register the association for the sole reason that [the applicants], in the memorandum of association, used such terms as 'Silesian nation' and 'Silesian national minority'. We agree with the opinion [of the Court of Appeal]. 'National minority' is a legal term (see Article 35 of the Constitution of 2 February 1997), although it is not defined either in Polish law or in the conventions relied on in the appeal on points of law. However, the explanatory report to the [Framework Convention] states plainly that the individual's subjective choice of a nation is inseparably linked to objective criteria relevant to his or her national identity. That means that a subjective declaration of belonging to a specific national group implies prior social acceptance of the existence of the national group in question. ... An individual has the right to choose his or her nation but this, as the Court of Appeal rightly pointed out, does not in itself lead to the establishment of a new, distinct nation or national minority. There was, and still is, a common perception that a Silesian ethnic group does exist; however, this group has never been regarded as a national group and has not claimed to be regarded as such. ... Registration of the association, which in paragraph 30 of its memorandum of association states that it is an organisation of a [specific] national minority, would be in breach of the law because it would result in a non-existent 'national minority' taking advantage of privileges conferred on [genuine] national minorities. This concerns, in particular, the privileges granted by the 1993 Elections Act ... such as an exemption