This paper will present the preliminary results of research that is being carried out within the framework of the project “Legal and Linguistic Aspects of Multilingualism”. The aim of the research is to explore language policies in a historical and comparative perspective, spanning different historical periods and political systems, from Austria-Hungary, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Independent State of Croatia, socialist Yugoslavia, and the Republic of Croatia. Because such a wide scope of research can-not be presented in a single paper, we will focus primarily on language policies in Austria-Hungary, providing a brief outline of other periods for the sake of comparison. The paper is based on different types of normative documents, from constitutions and legislation to execu-tive orders, decrees, rules and regulations.U članku se iznose preliminarni rezultati istraživanja koje se provodi unutar projekta „Pravni i lingvistički aspekti višejezičnosti“. Cilj je istraživanja proučiti jezičnu politiku na teritoriju Hrvatske u povijesnoj i komparativnoj perspektivi, od razdoblja Austro-Ugarske do danas. Detaljnije će se prikazati prvenstveno jezična politika u doba Austro-Ugarske u domenama zakonodavstva, sudstva i obrazovanja, uz kratak pregled ostalih razdoblja radi usporedbe. Članak se temelji na primarnim izvorima koji uključuju različite tipove normativnih tekstova, od ustava i zakona do uredbi i pravila
