Apply to the Court

Apply to the Court


As announced in the Court’s press release of 29 August 2022, as from 1 September 2022 the Court has returned in some aspects to the normal processing of applications involving Ukraine. Due to the interruption of the international postal services to and from Ukraine, the Court will communicate with applicants via its electronic communication system, eComms. For that purpose, the Court will use the email address provided by the applicants. Regarding specifically the notification of decisions and judgments, where no email address has been provided the Court has exceptionally decided to notify the applicants about decisions and judgments adopted by its Chamber and Committee judicial formations only via its HUDOC database. Decisions adopted by the Single Judge will be notified only to those applicants who have provided an email address. Prior to contacting the Court about the state of the proceedings in a case, applicants are encouraged to consult the Court’s State of Proceedings search tool for further information.

The Court is continuing to examine applications against the Russian Federation, including those lodged in the Russian language. Due to the interruption of the international postal services to and from Russia and where the only means of delivery of the Court’s decisions and judgments to the applicants is by post, the Court has exceptionally decided to notify the applicants about decisions and judgments adopted by its Chamber and Committee judicial formations after 1 March 2022 in respect of applications against Russia only via its HUDOC database. For the same reasons, the Court notifies decisions issued by the Single Judge in cases lodged by applicants with a postal address in Russia only if they provide the Court with an email address. Prior to contacting the Court about the state of the proceedings in a case, applicants and their representatives are encouraged to consult the Court’s SOP search tool for information. Since 1 March 2023, the Court has simplified the procedure for applications raising issues that fall under its well-established case-law and where no observations are required from the parties. The parties in such cases are no longer informed by letter about the notification of an application under Rule 54 § 2 (b) of the Rules of Court. Instead, a document entitled “Subject matter and Statement of Facts” is published on HUDOC. This document also contains a reference to an information notice which describes all arrangements relating to the procedure in question. Judgments and decisions adopted by the Court in these cases are notified to the parties through publication on HUDOC. Such publication constitutes delivery of the judgment or notification of the decision.

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How to make a valid application


If you decide to apply to the Court, please ensure that your application complies with Rule 47 of the Rules of Court, which sets out the information and documents that must be provided.

Failure to provide any of the information or documents required by Rule 47 §§ 1 and 2 will result in the complaints not being examined by the Court. It is imperative that all fields in the application form are filled in.

 Rule 47

 Institution of Proceedings

A valid application will be examined by the Court; this does not mean that the application will be declared admissible.

Data protection

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How to lodge an application


The application form should be downloaded, completed, printed out and sent by post to the Court with the necessary documents. No other form must be used.

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Admissibility Checklist


The admissibility checklist is designed to allow potential applicants to check whether, on the face of it, they satisfy the main admissibility criteria for lodging an application with the Court. However, the checklist is intended purely for guidance and has no legal force.

The online admissibility checklist

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How to download the application form


Download Application Form

Application Form The form will work correctly only with Adobe Reader 9 upwards and is only supported under the Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. Please ensure you have Adobe Reader installed on your computer (download available from www.adobe.com).

1. Save a copy of the form

  • Right-click on the link or icon above
  • According to your browser, choose one of available options “Save target as”, “Save Link As” or “Download Linked File As…”
  • Save the form on your computer in a chosen location.

2. Fill in the form

  • Open the saved copy of the form in Adobe Reader from the chosen location
  • Fill in the form and save it.
  • Once you have completed the form, you should print it, sign it and post it to the Court.

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Grouped applications


Where there are more than 10 applicants, the representative should provide, in addition to the application forms and documents, a table setting out the required identifying details for each applicant.

 Addendum for multiple applicants

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How to download the authority form


 Authority Form

The form will work correctly only with Adobe Reader 9 upwards and are only supported under the Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. Please ensure you have Adobe Reader installed on your computer (download available from www.adobe.com).

1. Save a copy of the form

  • Right-click on the link or icon above
  • According to your browser, choose one of available options “Save target as”, “Save Link As” or “Download Linked File As…”
  • Save the form on your computer in a chosen location.

2. Fill in the form

  • Open the saved copy of the form in Adobe Reader from the chosen location
  • Fill in the form and save it.
  • Once you have completed the form, you should print it, sign it and post it to the Court.
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How to complete the application form


If your application is incomplete the Court will not examine it, so it is essential that you meticulously fill in every part of the application form.

 Notes for filling in the application form 

 Common mistakes

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Sending applications


Applications to the Court must be sent by post to the following address:

The Registrar
European Court of Human Rights
Council of Europe
67075 Strasbourg Cedex
FRANCE

Please note that sending an application by fax does not interrupt the four-month time-limit.

Simplified case processing flow chart

Procedure before the ECHR


This flow chart indicates the progress of a case by judicial formation.

 Simplified case processing flow chart before the Court

Depending on the case, applications are allocated to one of the Court’s judicial formations, namely:

  • a single judge
  • a Committee
  • a Chamber

 The life of an application

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Procedure after communication


Communication is the notification of the application to the respondent Government.

The proceedings may then be divided into two consecutive phases. During the non-contentious phase, the parties are invited to explore the possibility of a friendly settlement, within a period of 12 weeks. If they do not reach an agreement, the proceedings enter a contentious phase during which they exchange their observations.
 Procedure following communication of an application - non-contentious phase
 Procedure following communication of an application - contentious phase

The proceedings may also consist in a single phase if such division is not appropriate, in which case the question of a possible friendly settlement and the exchange of observations will be dealt with simultaneously.

 Procedure following communication of an application - single phase

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Non-contentious proceedings

The Court has introduced a non-contentious procedure from the communication of the case, the point where notice of the application is given to the respondent Government. This mechanism allows the parties to reach a friendly settlement, with the aim of reducing case-processing time and ensuring speedier resolution of the dispute.

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eComms - Communication with the Court

eComms is a tool enabling applicants’ representatives to communicate with the Court by electronic means. This method of sending and receiving documents electronically may be put in place at the Court’s initiative only at the procedural stage of communication, i.e. when the application has been communicated to the respondent Government.

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State of proceedings


The search engine SOP - State of Proceedings - allows anyone to find out what stage has been reached in the proceedings concerning an application.

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Submitting pleadings


  Guidelines on submitting pleadings following simplified communication

To be read together with the    Practice direction issued by the President of the Court in accordance with Rule 32 of the Rules of Court.

  Electronic filing

Useful documents


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Admissibility Guide

The Practical Guide on Admissibility Criteria is intended mainly for lawyers who wish to bring a case before the Court. It describes the conditions of admissibility which an application must meet.

 Practical guide on admissibility criteria

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Questions and answers

The Questions & answers provide information to future applicants.

 Questions & Answers 

Other languages

Cover of the booklet Your application to the ECHR

Your application to the ECHR

This pamphlet, describing the various stages of the procedure by which the Court examines an application, is intended to answer the main questions that applicants might ask, especially once their application has been sent to the Court.

 Your application to the ECHR - How to apply and how your application will be processed

Other languages

Useful videos


 

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Video on lodging an application

This video clip is a tutorial explaining how the application form must be completed in order to be examined by the Court. Please note that although this video correctly reflects the main points on lodging an application, some information needs to be updated according to the latest reference documents.

 Notes for filling in the application form

Other languages

 

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COURTalks- disCOURs

The fifteen-minute video provides judges, lawyers and other legal professionals, as well as civil society representatives, with an overview of the admissibility criteria which all applications must meet in order to be examined by the Court.

 

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Film on the Court

Aimed at a wide audience, the film explains how the Court works, describes the challenges faced by it and shows the scope of its activity through examples from the case-law. 

Other languages

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Interim Measures


What are Interim Measures?

When the Court receives an application it may decide that a State should take certain measures provisionally while it continues its examination of the case. This usually consists of requesting a State to refrain from doing something, such as not returning individuals to countries where it is alleged that they would face death or torture. 

 Requests for interim measures (Practice direction) 

 General presentation 

 Practical Information

Interim measures are granted by the Court only in clearly defined conditions, namely where there is a risk that serious violations of the Convention might occur.

A high proportion of requests for interim measures are inappropriate and are therefore refused.