The Grand Chamber examines the cases that are submitted to it either after a Chamber has relinquished jurisdiction (Article 30 of the Convention) or when a request for referral of the case has been granted by the Grand Chamber Panel (Article 43).

It also has jurisdiction to deal with requests for advisory opinions (Article 47 of the Convention and Protocol No. 16).

No application is ever sent directly to the Grand Chamber, but a Chamber may relinquish jurisdiction to it or a case may be referred to it by one of the parties; this happens at a more advanced stage in the procedure. In both cases, examination by the Grand Chamber is the exception to the rule.

• Relinquishment

Where the case raises a serious question affecting the interpretation of the Convention or there is a risk of inconsistency with a previous decision of the Court, the Chamber to which the case was allocated may relinquish jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber.

• Referral

Within three months of delivery of the Chamber judgment the parties may request the referral of the case to the Grand Chamber. A panel of judges decides whether or not the case should be referred to the Grand Chamber for fresh examination (Rule 25 of the Rules of Court).

• Advisory opinions

The Grand Chamber also has jurisdiction to give advisory opinions pursuant to Protocol No. 16 and Article 47 of the Convention. When the Court receives a request for an advisory opinion, it falls to the Grand Chamber to examine it. In addition, pursuant to Article 29 of the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (the Oviedo Convention), the Grand Chamber has limited jurisdiction to give advisory opinions on legal questions concerning the interpretation of the said Convention under certain conditions.