Challenge of a decision by UK national authorities that denied a Gypsy family permission to site caravan on land they owned; whether there was a violation of the right to enjoy the best state of physical and mental health; whether there was a violation of the prohibition of discrimination; special obligation regarding vulnerable and minority groups.
The Chapman case was one of five similar cases (see Thomas and Jessica Coster v. UK, John and Catherine Beard v. UK, Jane Smith v. UK, Thomas Lee v. UK) decided in the same manner. A later case, Varey v. UK, was settled before it reached the Court. Gypsy families in the UK have increasingly purchased their own land to site their caravans due to the ongoing failure of local authorities to fulfill their legislative obligations to provide sufficient caravan sites. The “Traveller Law Reform Project” (successor of the “Gypsy and Traveller Law Reform Coalition”) introduced an E-Petition which can be signed until February 11th, 2008. The petition seeks to ensure the same security of tenure for Gypsies and Travellers on their sites as is enjoyed by local authority tenants in houses or flats and non-Traveller residents of mobile home parks.
The Court recognizes a possible future consensus amongst the member States of the Council of Europe regarding the special needs of minorities and an obligation to protect their security, identity and lifestyle, which may lead to a different outcome in a similar case. There have been a number of important developments in this area. In 1998 the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance issued a General Policy Recommendation (No. 3) combating Racism and Intolerance against Roma/Gypsies. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) issued its “Report on the Situation of Roma and Sinti in the OSCE Area” (2000) and following that an “OSCE Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti within the OSCE area” (2003). The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by the Council of Europe binds the signatory states to submit a report to the Council of Europe containing "full information on the legislative and other measures taken to give effect to the principles set out in this framework Convention" (Article 25). All these developments point to a consensus among European states regarding the special needs of minority groups.
Claimant: Sally Chapman Claimants Advocate: Diana Allen (formerly practicing at Lance Kent & Co) The Grey House Kitsbury Road, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 3Ea Tel: 0044 1442 879628 or 0044 1442 865212 Intervener: European Roma Rights Centre H- 386 Budapest, PO Box 906/93 Hungary Tel: 0036 1 4132200 Fax: 0036 1 4132201 www.errc.org Defendant: British state
