By judgment dated 21 April 2026, the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic rejected an appeal (extraordinary appeal) filed by the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic against a final judgment of the appellate court in a case concerning the segregation of Roma children from the municipality of Malý Slivník in education.

In 2024, the appellate court upheld the anti-discrimination action brought by the Centre for Civil and Human Rights and ordered the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic and the Regional Office of School Administration to prepare and implement a desegregation plan to eliminate the segregation of Roma children educated in the primary school in the municipality of Terňa.

In its appeal, the Ministry of Education argued, in particular, that courts do not have the authority to impose on state bodies an obligation to prepare and implement a desegregation plan, claiming that such an obligation is too vague and unenforceable.

The Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic rejected these arguments. It confirmed that, in anti-discrimination cases, courts may impose on state institutions the obligation to adopt concrete measures to eliminate discrimination, including the preparation and implementation of a desegregation plan.

This is a highly significant decision. For the first time, the Supreme Court has clearly confirmed that Slovak courts may impose on state institutions, including ministries, not only the obligation to eliminate discrimination, but also the obligation to prepare and subsequently implement concrete systemic measures to remedy an unlawful situation.

It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Education has already been implementing desegregation measures since the 2025/2026 school year, in cooperation with the municipality of Terňa and other partners, within the framework of the “Opportunity for All” project funded by European resources. Thus, while in the court proceedings it argued that such an obligation cannot be defined with sufficient precision, in practice it is already implementing measures that have the character of a desegregation plan.

The Supreme Court’s decision represents an important step towards ensuring that protection against discrimination does not remain merely a formal declaration, but leads to real and effective measures ensuring equal access for children to quality and inclusive education.

Slovak version of the Supreme Court judgment can be found here.