European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as the Court) is an international judicial body which, under the conditions laid down in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter referred to as the Convention), may examine applications submitted by individuals alleging violations of their rights. The Convention is an international treaty under which most European States have undertaken to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. These rights are guaranteed by the Convention itself and by its Protocols (Protocols Nos. 1, 4, 6, 7, 12 and 13), which are binding on the States Parties that have ratified them.

Grounds for Applying to the European Court of Human Rights

1. You may apply to the Court if you believe that you are personally a victim of a violation, by a State Party to the Convention, of your rights or fundamental freedoms protected by the Convention and its Protocols.

2. The Court may examine only applications alleging violations of one or more rights guaranteed by the Convention and its Protocols.

The European Court of Human Rights is an international judicial institution which examines applications submitted by individuals alleging violations of their rights by States Parties to the Convention.

Under Article 19 of the Convention, the European Court of Human Rights was established to ensure observance of the obligations undertaken by the High Contracting Parties under the Convention and its Protocols. Under Article 32 of the Convention, the Court’s jurisdiction extends to all matters concerning the interpretation and application of the Convention and its Protocols referred to it in accordance with Articles 33, 34 and 47 of the Convention. Accordingly, the Court does not perform the functions of a national court and has no authority to quash or amend decisions of domestic courts. Nor can the Court intervene directly in the activities of a public authority whose actions or omissions have given rise to an alleged violation.

3. The Court may examine only applications brought against States that have ratified the Convention and the relevant Protocols, concerning events that occurred after the applicable dates of ratification. Information on the dates of ratification of the Convention and its Protocols is available on the official website of the European Court of Human Rights.

4. You may apply to the Court only in respect of complaints concerning matters falling within the responsibility of public authorities (for example, parliament, courts or prosecution authorities) of one of these States. The Court does not examine applications brought directly against private individuals or non-governmental institutions.

5. Under Article 35 § 1 of the Convention, the Court may examine an application only after all available and effective domestic remedies have been exhausted and within four months of the final domestic decision. An application that does not satisfy these admissibility requirements will not be examined on its merits.

6. It is essential that, before applying to the Court, you exhaust the available and effective legal remedies in the State against which your application is directed, provided that those remedies are capable of redressing the alleged violation. Otherwise, you must be able to demonstrate that such remedies are ineffective. This generally means that you should first bring your complaint before the competent domestic courts, including the relevant higher court where necessary, to protect the rights whose violation you intend to allege before the Court. Furthermore, when pursuing domestic remedies, you must comply with national procedural rules, particularly the statutory time limits.

8. If your application concerns a decision of a domestic court, such as a criminal conviction, there is generally no need to seek further review of that decision once you have exhausted the ordinary avenues of appeal. Nor is it generally necessary to pursue non-judicial remedies or submit complaints or petitions to, for example, parliament, the head of state or government, a minister or an ombudsman, as such measures are not ordinarily regarded as remedies that must be exhausted before applying to the Court.

9. You may lodge an application with the Court within four months of the final decision of the domestic court or authority competent to determine the matter forming the subject of your complaint. The four-month period generally runs from the date of the final domestic decision or, depending on the circumstances, from the date on which you or your advocate were notified of that decision following the ordinary domestic appeal procedure. Where no effective domestic remedy is available in respect of the alleged violation, the time limit may run from the date of the alleged violation, subject to the Court’s applicable rules and case-law.

10. The four-month time limit is generally interrupted only by the dispatch of a duly completed application form, together with the required supporting documents, in accordance with Rule 47 of the Rules of Court. The date on which an application is lodged is normally determined by the postmark showing when the completed application was sent to the Court. An initial letter outlining the intended complaint or a general request for information does not interrupt the four-month time limit.