General informations for applicants

 

1. REQUESTS FOR INTERIM MEASURES

 

  • Applicants who make a request for an interim measure must:
  1. send them by post or by facsimile (+33 (0)3 88 41 27 30 during the Court Registry’s working hours);
  2. write them, where possible, in one of the official languages of the Contracting Parties;
  3. mark the request as follows in bold on the face of the request: “Rule 39 - Urgent - Person to contact (name and contact details): …"
  4.  in deportation or extradition cases : date and time of removal and destination;
  5. state reasons :  in particular specify in detail the grounds on which his or her particular fears are based and the nature of the alleged risks;
  6. join all necessary supporting documents to the request;
  7. indicate a telephone number at which they can be contacted in their request;

 

  • extradition or deportation

In cases concerning extradition or deportation, details should be provided of the expected date and time of the removal, the applicant’s address or place of detention and his or her official case-reference number.

 

The Court must be notified as soon as possible of any change to those details: date and time of removal, address, etc.

 

  •  Making requests in good time

Requests for interim measures should normally be received as soon as possible after the final domestic decision has been taken.

 

The Court cannot always examine in a timely and proper manner requests which are sent at the last moment, particularly when they are supported by a large number of documents.

 

For that reason, where the final domestic decision is imminent and there is a risk of immediate enforcement, especially in extradition or deportation cases, applicants and their representatives should submit the request for interim measures without waiting for that decision, indicating clearly the date on which it will be taken and that the request is subject to the final domestic decision being negative.

 

 

2. BASIC INDIVIDUAL APPLICATION

 

  • submitting on the offical form

Any application under Article 34 of the Convention must be submitted in
writing and must be sent to the following address: The Registrar, European Court of Human Rights, Council of Europe, F – 67075 STRASBOURG CEDEX.

 

Any application should be made on the form referred to in Rule 47 §1 of the Rules of Court and be accompanied by the documents and decisions
mentioned in the same Rule 47 § 1.

 

The application should be written legibly and, preferably, typed.

 

Where, exceptionally, an application exceeds 10 pages (excluding annexes
listing documents), a short summary should be added.

 

Where applicants produce documents in support of the application, they
should never submit original copies.


Any applicant who already has an application pending before the Court must
inform the Registry accordingly, stating the first application number.

 

 

  •  submitting on informal form with an introductory letter

 

Where an applicant introduces his application in a simple letter, such letter must set out the subject matter of the application in order to interrupt the running of the six-month rule.


Since the introductory letter does not contain all the information referred to in Rule 47, the applicant may be required to submit a duly completed form, which must be despatched within eight weeks from the date of the Registry’s letter requesting the applicant to complete and return the form.


Failure to comply with this time-limit will have implications for the date of
introduction of the application and may therefore affect the applicant’s compliance with the six-month rule.


Where, within six months of being asked to do so, an applicant has not
returned a duly completed application form, the file will be destroyed.

 

 

  •  further proceeding

 

On receipt of the first communication setting out the subject-matter of the
case, the Registry  open a file whose number must be mentioned in all subsequent correspondence and informe the applicant by letter.

 

The applicant may also be asked for further information or documents : failure to provide these information or documents at the Registry’s request
may result in the application not being examined by the Court or
being declared inadmissible or struck out of the Court’s list of cases.