The European Court of Human Rights' Jurisprudence Regarding the Segregation of Roma Schoolchildren: A Children's Rights Perspective

Racial segregation of Roma children in the educational setting is an especially egregious kind of discrimination for it targets not only an ethnic minority but the most vulnerable group of society: children. This double vulnerability puts Roma children at an increased risk of becoming victims of human rights violations. However, not till its ground-breaking ruling in the case of D.H. and Others v the Czech Republic in 2007 did the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) finally condemn the practice of segregating Roma schoolchildren. This chapter provides a child rights-sensitive examination of four pivotal cases decided between 2007 and 2013. It seeks to analyse whether the ECtHR's judgments are consistent with international child rights standards as set out in the CRC. By using key child rights principles and standards as a critical lens for interpreting these segregation cases, I explore whether the ECtHR embraces a child rights-compliant vision of the prohibition of discrimination in education.