A rigorous path to the European Court of Human Rights.

The Court’s role

First determine whether Strasbourg is the right forum.

The European Court of Human Rights is not an additional level of appeal. Its task is to determine whether a State Party is responsible for a violation of a right protected by the European Convention on Human Rights or its Protocols.

A useful preliminary analysis connects the facts, the domestic decisions and the Convention right relied upon. It also identifies which complaints were raised before the national courts and whether an effective domestic remedy remained available.

Article 34 and Article 35

Admissibility must be addressed before the merits.

The admissibility criteria are cumulative and fact-sensitive. The following points are only an orientation, not a determination of admissibility.

• The applicant must normally claim to be a victim of the alleged violation.
• The complaint must concern responsibility attributable to a State Party.
• Effective domestic remedies must ordinarily have been exhausted.
• The application must, in principle, be lodged within four months of the final domestic decision.
• The complaint must fall within the Court’s jurisdiction and disclose an arguable Convention issue.
• Other procedural bars, including duplication and abuse of the right of application, must be considered.

Rule 47

Build a self-contained and complete application.

The Court’s official instructions require use of the current application form. The facts, alleged violations and compliance with the admissibility criteria must be stated concisely and legibly, with the required signatures and supporting documents.

1. 01Reconstruct the full domestic chronology.
2. 02Identify the final decision and notification evidence.
3. 03Link each complaint to a Convention right.
4. 04Organise decisions and evidence in a clear annex list.

According to the Court’s current guidance, the form should be downloaded, completed, printed, signed and sent by post with the necessary documents. Applicants should verify the official instructions immediately before filing.

Primary sources

Use the Court’s current documents.