Sahin v. Turkey, no. 44774/98 [2005] ECHR 819 (10 November 2005)
Citation: Sahin v. Turkey, no. 44774/98 [2005] ECHR 819 (10 November 2005)
Rule of thumb: Is it a violate of the right to education not to recognise a person’s qualifications? Yes, people’s educational achievements must be given proper certification or else their right to education has been violated.
Judgment:
The human right to education is broad and wide ranging. Where people are denied reasonable access to study a particular educational course in society then this is a violation of the human right to education, and, if they are not allowed to pass a course or a subject when they deserve to, or, do not attain grades in a course or a subject that properly reflect the quality of their work, this is also a violation of the right to education, ‘The right to education, as set out in the first sentence of Article 2 of Protocol No. 1, guarantees everyone within the jurisdiction of the Contracting States “a right of access to educational institutions existing at a given time”, but such access constitutes only a part of the right to education. For that right “to be effective, it is further necessary that, inter alia, the individual who is the beneficiary should have the possibility of drawing profit from the education received, that is to say, the right to obtain, in conformity with the rules in force in each State, and in one form or another, official recognition of the studies which he has completed”. Similarly, implicit in the phrase “No person shall …” is the principle of equality of treatment of all citizens in the exercise of their right to education... 154. A limitation will only be compatible with Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 if there is a reasonable relationship of proportionality between the means employed and the aim sought to be achieved. 155 Such restrictions must not conflict with other rights enshrined in the Convention and its Protocols either. The provisions of the Convention and its Protocols must be considered as a whole. Accordingly, the first sentence of Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 must, where appropriate, be read in the light in particular of Articles 8, 9 and 10 of the Convention’, (at 152-155)
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