CEDH · PRESS;ADMISSIBILITYDECISIONS;ENG — 13 juin 2001

.s3ABFC313 { font-size:10pt } .s598389F9 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; font-size:12pt } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s85646119 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; font-size:12pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sC8DB3A12 { width:382.75pt; display:inline-block } .s9E7DF94A { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right; font-size:12pt } .sC7EAD8B { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:underline } .sCB41C434 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:36pt; text-align:center; font-size:12pt } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s2EF62ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:12pt } .sF1CA9B3 { width:8.04pt; display:inline-block } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS       426   13.6.2001   Press release issued by the Registrar     CASE OF JÓZSEF KRASZNAI AND 24 OTHERS V. HUNGARY INADMISSIBLE     On 8 June 2001 the European Court of Human Rights declared inadmissible an application brought by 25 Hungarian nationals of Romani ethnic origin who, accompanied by their numerous children, left Hungary in July 2000, seeking political refugee status in France.   The applicants had claimed that their houses in the village of Zámoly had been unlawfully demolished and they had been forced to live in precarious conditions for more than three years. During that period they had been exposed to racist persecution, attacks and rioting, and the Hungarian State had failed to ensure their personal safety. They also submitted that, under the Hungarian educational system, children of Romani ethnic origin were often placed in special classes for retarded pupils – and three of their children had been so placed. In all these respects, they had been discriminated against on account of their ethnic origin. They invoked Articles 5 (right to liberty and security), 6 (right to a fair trial), 8 (right to respect for private and family life), 13 (right to an effective remedy) and 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights, Articles 1 (protection of property) and 2 (right to education) of Protocol No. 1 and Article 2 (freedom of movement) of Protocol No. 4.   Sitting as a committee of three judges, the Court rejected the application Krasznai and Others v. Hungary (application number 59329/00) on the ground that domestic remedies had not been exhausted.   Under the Convention, an application to the Court may only be submitted after all domestic remedies have been exhausted, according to the generally recognised rules of international law.   In the present case, the complaints about the Zámoly local municipality’s dealings with the demolition of the applicants’ houses and their temporary accommodation are premature as the appeal proceedings in respect of the first-instance decision on the applicants’ official liability action are still pending before the Hungarian courts.   As regards the complaint about the Hungarian State’s reluctance or failure to protect the applicants from atrocities allegedly inflicted on account of their ethnic origin and to guarantee their personal safety, the Court observed that they had not pursued any formal legal remedies: in particular, no complaint proceedings had been initiated before the public prosecution authorities. Lastly, as to the complaint about the education of children of Romani origins, the Court found that the applicants had failed to institute legal proceedings of any kind in respect of the three children concerned: in particular, the parents had not complained to the competent administrative authorities about their children’s placement in special classes.   ***   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Contact:   Roderick Liddell (Telephone: (0)3 88 41 24 92) Fax: (0)3 88 41 27 91     The European Court of Human Rights was set up in 1959 in Strasbourg to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights.   On 1 November 1998 a full-time Court was established, replacing the original two-tier system of a part-time Court and Commission.