Chapman Redux. The European Court of Human Rights and Roma Traditional Lifestyle

In this chapter, the author proposes to redraft the Chapman v. United Kingdom judgment (2001) which dealt with the issue whether and to what extent states parties to the European Convention on Human Rights are bound to allow Roma to live in caravans according to their traditions. It first provides some background information on the case. Secondly, the author underlines what she sees as the three major flaws in the majority's reasoning, namely, the downplaying of the importance of minority rights, the individualistic reading of the facts and the formalistic approach to equality. Thirdly, she presents the alternative drafting of the judgment she proposes. In doing so, she takes a deliberately anachronistic approach: she does not try to ascertain how the judges could have dealt with the case at the time. Rather, she discusses how the Court could handle a similar case today, taking into account the evolutions that have taken place both within and outside the ECHR's jurisprudence.