ECtHR orders payout to woman evicted from Welsh caravan site.

On 18 September, the European Court of Human Rights in Buckland v UK held that the applicant’s Article 8 rights had been violated where she had been denied the possibility of challenging possession proceedings on grounds of her personal circumstances.

 

Ms Buckland, a gypsy living on a caravan site in Wales, was issued with a possession order by the British authorities following allegations of nuisance and anti-social behaviour. She appealed the order in the UK courts but was unsuccessful.

 

Ms Buckland complained to the ECtHR that the Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold the possession order constituted an unjustified breach of her right to respect for her home and her family life under Article 8 ECHR.

 

The Strasbourg Court concluded that although the interference with this right was in accordance with the law and pursued a legitimate aim, the procedural safeguards required by Article 8 for the assessment of the proportionality of the interference were not observed.