Major Conclusions from the D.H. and Others v. Czech Republic Judgment

STRASBOURG—In a momentous decision for Roma across Europe, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, by a vote of 13-4, ruled yesterday that segregating Roma students into special schools is a form of unlawful discrimination in breach of Article 14 of the European Convention (prohibiting discrimination), taken together with Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 (securing the right to education).

The court awarded 4,000 euros to each of the applicants in respect of non-pecuniary damage and 10,000 euros jointly in respect of costs and expenses.

The ruling came in D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic, a case launched eight years ago by 18 Roma children who sought legal redress for the practice—widespread in central and eastern Europe—of shunting Roma students, regardless of their intellectual abilities, into "special" schools for children with learning disabilities. Research by the European Roma Rights Centre showed that Roma students in the city of Ostrava were 27 times more likely than similarly situated non-Roma to be placed in special schools.

The judgment is groundbreaking in a number of respects, including the following:

• Patterns of Discrimination—for the first time, the European Court of Human Rights has found a violation of Article 14 of the Convention in relation to a pattern of racial discrimination in a particular sphere of public life, in this case, public primary schools. As such, the court has underscored that the convention addresses not only specific acts of discrimination, but also systemic practices that deny the enjoyment of rights to racial or ethnic groups.
• Segregation Is Discrimination—The court clarified that racial segregation which disadvantages members of a particular racial or ethnic group amounts to discrimination in breach of Article 14.
• Equal Access to Education for Roma is a Persistent Problem throughout Europe—The court went out of its way to note that the Czech Republic is not alone: discriminatory barriers to education for Roma children are present in a number of European countries.
• Unified Anti-Discrimination Principles for Europe—This decision brings the European Court of Human Right's Article 14 jurisprudence in line with principles of antidiscrimination law that prevail within the European Union.