Sampanis and others v. Greece, No. 32526/05, ECtHR (First Section), 5 September 2008

The refusal to enroll into school due to bureaucratic difficulties and the subsequent placement of Roma children in special classes in a pertinence of the school building breach the right to education and the prohibition of discrimination.

Art. 14 ECHR
Art. 2 Prot. 1 ECHR

1. The schooling of children in elementary schools is important not only for the acquisition of knowledge but also for their integration into society. From this derives the particular relevance, in systems in which schooling in public or private institutions is mandatory, of the enrolment in school of all children of school age, especially when the children belong to minorities. Therefore, the refusal to enroll Roma children opposed by the school authorities due to bureaucratic difficulties, having caused the loss of the school year, breach the right to education.

2. In today's democratic society, founded on the principles of pluralism and respect for different cultures, no diversity of treatment based exclusively or to a significant extent on a person's ethnic origin could be objectively justified. Discrimination based on ethnic origin represents, in fact, a form of racial discrimination which, given its dangerous consequences, requires special vigilance and a vigorous reaction from the authorities. For this reason the authorities must use all the means at their disposal to combat racism, thus reinforcing the democratic principle of society according to which diversity must be perceived not as a threat but as a wealth.

3. The Roma represent a disadvantaged and vulnerable minority with a particular character due to their vicissitudes and their perpetual uprooting and need special protection that must also be extended to the field of education. Therefore, the inclusion of Roma children indifferently in remedial classes created specifically after regular enrolment in the school year, without their level of education having been effectively assessed, discriminates them, in the measure in which these children have been removed from others not belonging to the Roma ethnic group.