Chapman revisited: acknowledging the systemic nature of the violation of Roma cultural rights

In its 18 January 2001 Chapman v. the United Kingdom ruling, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the refusal to grant a Roma woman planning permission to settle with her family on a caravan on her own land and her subsequent eviction from her property did not constitute a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. This judgment was seen by many as a missed opportunity for the Court to develop an effective protection of minorities( right to preserve their cultural traditions based on the European Convention. In this paper, I first analyse what I see as the three major flaws in the Court's reasoning. I then propose an alternative drafting of the judgment, that takes into account evolutions that have taken place in the Court's case law and the European legal space more generally since this case was decided.