Tanase v. Romania – Protecting Minority Rights before the European Court of Human Rights

Firm Partner: Junior Sirivar, Partner, McCarthy Tétrault

The IHRP was counsel to a number of Roma who claimed a breach of their human rights in relation to a 1991 anti-Roma pogrom that resulted in 24 Roma families being beaten and driven from their homes by non-Roma villagers. On May, 26, 2009 the European Court of Human Rights accepted the Romanian government’s admission that it was responsible for various breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights, including the prohibition on torture, right to a fair trial, right to respect for private and family life, right to an effective remedy, and prohibition on discrimination.

The government committed to paying damages totaling 565,000 EUR, and undertook to implement a series of measures to prevent and fight discrimination and to improve living conditions for the Roma community. In 2010, the IHRP and McCarthy Tétrault received a Lexpert Zenith Pro Bono Award for their work on the case.

Read the IHRP’s Press Release
Read the IHRP’s Submissions on the Merits to the ECHR
Read the ECHR’s Final Decision