Referring a case to the European Court of Human Rights requires some procedural knowledge.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is an international court based in Strasbourg, France, responsible for protecting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe.
Taking a case to the European Court of Human Rights is not an easy process, but it is an important way for individuals to have their fundamental rights respected.
By following the steps above, you can effectively bring your case before the Court and defend your rights in Europe.
If you believe that your rights have been violated by a member state of the Council of Europe, you can take your case to the ECHR. Here’s how:
Before referring your case to the European Court of Human Rights, you must have exhausted all domestic remedies in the Member State concerned.
This means that you must have brought your case before the national courts and exhausted all available remedies.
The ECHR application form is the document you need to send to the European Court of Human Rights in order to bring your case before the institution. It must contain a detailed description of the facts and legal arguments supporting your application. It is important to be clear and precise in your description of the facts and to present solid legal arguments.
Once you have prepared your application, you can send it to the European Court of Human Rights.
You can do this by post using the application form available on the Court’s website. Don’t forget to include all relevant supporting documents.
Once the European Court of Human Rights receives your application, it will examine it to determine whether it is admissible.
If your application is admissible, it will be sent to a committee or chamber of the Court for examination. You will be informed of the Court’s decision once it has been taken.
This page gives you a 2-point overview of referrals to the ECHR with :
How long does it take to bring a case before the ECHR?
The time limit for bringing a case before the European Court of Human Rights is 4 months, following the date of the last final domestic decision in a case.
Before 1 February 2022, the time limit was 6 months.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has jurisdiction to deal with individual or inter-State applications concerning alleged violations of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
However, not everyone can take their case directly to the ECHR.
Individuals wishing to bring a case before the ECHR must exhaust the domestic remedies available, i.e. appeal to the competent national courts.
They can only apply to the ECHR once they have exhausted these remedies, unless there are no effective domestic remedies or the domestic remedy has been unreasonably prolonged.
Member states of the Council of Europe may also bring cases before the ECHR in the event of alleged violations of the European Convention on Human Rights by another member state. In addition, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) may bring cases before the ECHR as third-party interveners if they can demonstrate a sufficient interest in doing so.
It is important to note that referral to the ECHR does not guarantee that a case will be examined or that it will result in a favourable decision.
The ECHR only deals with alleged violations of the European Convention on Human Rights and cannot examine issues that are not covered by the Convention.
Individual appeals to the ECHR are made using an application form prescribed by the European Court of Human Rights, which must satisfy certain conditions in order to be declared admissible and examined on the merits.
The admissibility consultation is therefore crucial if the application is not to be rejected and the case definitively lost.
Our law firm in Strasbourg will be able to provide you with useful advice at this stage from our experts in human rights and fundamental freedoms litigation.
Law firm specializing in the European Court of Human Rights
Meyer & Nouzha Avocats
67 rue Boecklin
67000 Strasbourg