Removing Arbitrary Handicaps: Protecting the Right to Education in Horváth and Kiss v. Hungary

Abstract

On January 29, 2013, in Horváth and Kiss v. Hungary, the European Court of Human Rights held that educational testing in Hungary violated the European Convention on Human Rights. The court found that the tests used in Hungary had a disproportionate effect on the Roma population and that the state has a positive obligation to remedy such practices. This Comment argues that the imposition of positive obligations on states to provide safeguards for disadvantaged groups, like the Roma, is an effective method to correct a troubled history of racial segregation in public schools. This Comment also argues that without such obligations on the part of states, disadvantaged children face the threat of losing a fair and real right to education.