The 15 applicants in the case called "Orsus and Others vs. Croatia" are Croatian nationals of Roma origin, who were born between 1988 and 1994 and who all live in Orehovica, Podturen and Trnovec. They complain that they were segregated at primary school because they were Roma.
The Roma approached the court in Strasbourg after relevant Croatian courts dismissed their lawsuit with the explanation that the reason why most Roma pupils in lower primary school grades were put in separate classes was that they needed extra tuition in Croatian. Furthermore, the curriculum at Podturen and Macinec elementary schools was the same as that used in parallel classes in those schools. Consequently, the applicants failed to substantiate their allegations concerning racial discrimination.
During today's 90-minute hearing, Croatia's representative Stefica Staznik and the applicants' legal representative, Lovorka Kusan, presented their arguments against and for the application.
In July 2008, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously ruled that the applicants' right to education had not been breached.
After that, the applicants requested that a Grand Chamber of this judicial institution should consider the case, and their request was granted on 1 December 2008.
On 23 January 2009 and 11 and 12 February 2009 respectively, the President of the Court gave the organisation "Greek Helsinki Monitor", the Government of the Slovak Republic and the organisation "Interights" leave to intervene as a third party in the Court's proceedings under relevant regulations of the Court.