Connors v United Kingdom Application No 66746/01 (27 May 2004)
The applicant and his family led a traditional traveling lifestyle. In October 1998, they settled on a designated local authority site under a license to occupy a plot provided that they did not cause a nuisance to those living on the site or near the site.
In January 2000, notice to quite was served on the family on the ground that the applicant’s children misbehaved and caused considerable nuisance at the site.
The applicant disputed the allegations and in March 2000 the local council issued proceedings for summary possession of the land.
The applicant and his family members, all of whom suffered from medical conditions, were evicted from the site on August 1, 2000.
Two days later, the council dumped the family’s possessions on the side of the road. The family received no assistance or advice as to where they could go, except for an offer of accommodation far away, which failed to take into account the family’s local community ties.
Since the eviction, the applicant and his family had been required to move on repeatedly and the stress and uncertainty contributed to the applicant’s separation from his wife. Following the eviction, the applicant’s son had not returned to school.
In finding an Article 8 violation, the Court said the major issue was whether the legal framework applicable to local sites provided the applicant with sufficient procedural protection of his rights. They found that the eviction of the applicant from the site was not attended by the requisite procedural safeguards, namely the requirement to establish proper justification for the serious interference with his rights.
"The vulnerable position of gypsies as a minority means that some special consideration should be given to their needs and their different lifestyle both in the relevant regulatory framework and in reaching decisions in particular cases. To this extent, there is thus a positive obligation imposed on the Contracting States by virtue of Article 8 to facilitate the gypsy way of life."
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