Date of the application: Pending before the European Court of Human Rights
Jurisdiction: European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)
Country: Greece
Legal basis: Articles 6 §1, 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights
Subject: Threatened eviction of a long-standing Roma settlement without provision of alternative housing; right to respect for the home, access to justice and prohibition of discrimination.
Summary
The case concerns five Greek nationals of Roma origin who have lived for approximately 25 years in an informal settlement on State-owned land in Thessaloniki. Although a first-instance court annulled an administrative eviction order, taking into account the applicants' long-standing residence and the absence of any relocation measures, that judgment was overturned on appeal, reinstating the eviction protocol. The applicants remain under the threat of eviction.
Before the European Court of Human Rights, the applicants argue that the prolonged threat of eviction without the provision of adequate alternative housing constitutes a disproportionate interference with their right to respect for their home under Article 8 of the Convention. They further allege that the appeal proceedings violated their right to a fair trial under Article 6 §1 and that the decision was influenced by discrimination based on their Roma origin, contrary to Article 14 taken in conjunction with Article 8.
HUDOC: https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-248842
Third party intervention by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe:
https://rm.coe.int/third-party-intervention-in-the-case-of-zereliga-and-...
