How to Submit an Individual Application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)?
To be able to apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), all domestic legal remedies must be exhausted. The applicant can submit an application to the Court within four months after exhausting domestic remedies and after the date of the final decision. Applications that are unsigned, or that are identical to cases already decided by a court or another international judicial body and do not involve new facts, will be rejected. The application must be submitted directly to the Court.
Who Can Apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)?
Any individual, non-governmental organization, or group of people who believe that their rights, as set out in the European Convention on Human Rights and its Additional Protocols, have been violated by a country that has signed the Convention, has the right to apply to the Court.
For Which Rights Violations Can One Apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)?
An application can be made to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in cases of violations of the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and its Additional Protocols. The most common of these rights include:
- Right to life (Article 2)
- Prohibition of torture (Article 3)
- Right to liberty and security (Article 5)
- Right to a fair trial (Article 6)
- Right to respect for private and family life (Article 8)
- Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion (Article 9)
- Freedom of expression (Article 10)
- Prohibition of discrimination (Article 14)
Additionally, rights recognized under Additional Protocols, such as the right to property, the right to education, and the right to free elections, may also be subject to applications to the ECtHR.
What Are the Requirements for Applying to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)?
According to Article 35 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the applicant must exhaust all domestic remedies and submit an application to the Court within four months after the date of the final decision. Additionally, under the same article, applications that are unsigned or that are identical to cases already decided by a court or another international judicial body and do not involve new facts will be rejected. The application must be submitted directly to the Court.
Which Domestic Legal Remedies Must Be Exhausted to Apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)?
Firstly, ordinary domestic legal remedies (first instance, appeal, and cassation) must be fully exhausted. If these remedies do not yield a result, an individual application can be submitted to the Constitutional Court. The time limit for applying to the Constitutional Court is 30 days from the date of notification of the final decision of domestic remedies. If no violation of rights is determined by the Constitutional Court, an individual application can be submitted to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) within four months from the date of the final decision.
What Are the Formal Requirements for an Application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)?
According to Article 47 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure, the application must include the following elements:
a) The applicant’s name, date of birth, nationality, sex, occupation, and address;
b) If applicable, the name, occupation, and address of the representative;
c) The Contracting Party or Parties against whom the applicant has brought the case;
d) A brief summary of the facts;
e) A short explanation of the alleged violations of the Convention and any relevant evidence;
f) A brief statement confirming that the applicant has complied with the admissibility conditions set out in Article 35/1 of the Convention;
g) The subject of the case and the applicant’s claim for just satisfaction under Article 41 of the Convention;
h) All relevant documents, especially judicial decisions and other case-related documents.
Statute of Limitations
An application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) must be submitted within four months after all domestic legal remedies have been exhausted and the final decision has been issued and notified to the applicant. This time limit is strict under Article 35 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Errors such as missing photographs, lack of a handwritten signature, or incomplete documents may result in the rejection of the application. Therefore, care must be taken to ensure that all required documents are included when submitting the application.
Language of the Application
The language used in the application to the Court is not important. Everyone has the right to submit an application in their own language. However, in the subsequent stages of the application, one of the Court’s official languages, English or French, must be chosen, and all correspondence must be conducted in that language.
Legal Aid
According to Article 91 of the Rules of Court, after the respondent State has submitted its written observations on the admissibility of the case or after the expiration of the time limit for doing so, the President of the Chamber may, upon request or of his own motion, decide to grant legal aid to the applicant. According to the same article, the following conditions must be met:
The applicant must not have sufficient means to cover, in whole or in part, the costs they are required to pay.
The provision of legal aid must be necessary for the proper conduct of the proceedings.
Application, Admissibility, and Decision Process
The time it takes to conclude individual applications to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) varies depending on the nature and complexity of the application, the Court’s workload, and the priority assigned to the case. Simple applications that meet the admissibility criteria may be concluded within an average of 6 months to 2 years, while applications requiring a full hearing, evidence, and reciprocal submissions can take between 3 and 7 years. Applications concerning fundamental rights, such as the right to life or the prohibition of ill-treatment, are prioritized by the Court and can be resolved more quickly.
The ECtHR examination process begins with the assessment of the admissibility of the application. Subsequently, the relevant State is asked to submit its observations, and the parties’ reciprocal statements are collected. As a result of this process, the Court determines whether there has been a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). If a violation is found, the Court may award just satisfaction to the applicant under Article 41 of the Convention. This compensation may cover both material and non-material (moral) damages.
Execution of Judgments
The decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) are binding, and their execution is supervised by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The Republic of Turkey is obligated to implement ECtHR judgments in accordance with the Convention to which it is a party. However, applicants must prepare their applications with legal assistance to ensure an effective process before the Court and to prevent any loss of rights.
Precedent Decisions
“Democracy constitutes the fundamental feature of European public order. The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) recognizes democracy as the sole model of political regime. It is not permissible to use the guarantees of the Convention to weaken a democratic society or to undermine its values. From the applicant’s publications, it was determined that they were opposed to secularism and pluralist democracy, and that their ultimate aim was to establish a state system based on Sharia law. Although it is considered a requirement of pluralist democracy that anti-secular views may be freely expressed – provided they do not involve hate speech or incitement to violence – this understanding of freedom does not prevent the State from taking measures against the use of the applicant foundation’s assets to abolish pluralist democracy and the rights and freedoms protected under the ECHR. Therefore, the closure of the applicant foundation by court decision in 2005 and the liquidation of its assets do not constitute a violation of Article 11 of the ECHR regarding freedom of association.”
(Zehra Foundation and others / Turkey (Application No.: 51595/07) (10.7.2018))
“The statements made by the applicant regarding the Prophet of Islam (‘pedophilic tendency’) were not considered to contribute objectively to a debate of public interest, but were deemed capable of being understood as disparaging the religious beliefs of others and provoking justified reactions. Accordingly, the applicant’s sanction was considered appropriate to protect religious beliefs in society and to prevent incitement to religious intolerance.”
(E.S. / Austria (Application No.: 38450/12) (25.10.2018))
“The applicant, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison, was sent to a penitentiary located 4,200 km away from their family. This distance prevents the applicant from maintaining family ties. This situation violates the prisoner’s right to respect for family life (Article 8 of the ECHR). Despite prior judgments finding violations against Russia in similar cases, the interpretation of Russian courts did not change positively. Article 8 of the ECHR was violated.”
(Voynov / Russia (Application No.: 39747/10) (3.7.2018))
“Within the Bakır group, four individuals and İmret were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 5 to 7 years by domestic courts for being members of an illegal armed organization, based on Articles 220/7 and 314 of the Turkish Penal Code, on the grounds that they deliberately assisted illegal armed organizations by participating in various marches, carrying banners and flags, wearing clothing with inscriptions, and chanting slogans. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found that the element of ‘deliberate assistance to the organization’ in Article 220/7 of the Turkish Penal Code did not provide a safeguard to ensure that the right to demonstrate and march was not violated, and that the Government had not provided any examples from judicial practice supporting such a safeguard. The Court noted that Article 220/7, as applied, was open to arbitrary implementation, unpredictable in its application, and therefore lacked the quality of ‘legality.’ The Court concluded that the sentences imposed violated the freedom of assembly and association guaranteed under Article 11 of the ECHR. In reaching this conclusion, the ECtHR emphasized that no distinction was made between those participating in the marches and those committing the criminal acts, and highlighted that the disproportionate nature of the sentences, combined with the broad interpretation of Articles 220/7 and 314 against the defendants, would deter society from participating in demonstrations, marches, and open debate.”
“The other eight individuals within the Bakır group were sentenced to prison terms starting from 1 year and 8 months under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law for propagating an illegal armed organization. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found that the domestic courts had not sufficiently assessed why the slogans chanted amounted to propaganda for an illegal armed organization, nor examined whether the march disrupted public order. The Court also determined that the banners, flags, clothing, and slogans of these individuals did not constitute advocacy of violent acts. In this context, the ECtHR ruled that the sentences imposed on these eight individuals were disproportionate to their actions, and that imposing such heavy penalties for these types of acts was not necessary in a democratic society. Accordingly, the Court concluded that Article 11 of the ECHR had been violated in relation to these applicants.”
(Bakır and others / Turkey (Application No.: 46713/19) (10.7.2018) and İmret / Turkey (No. 2) (Application No.: 57316/10) (10.7.2018))
Lawyer. Gökhan AKGÜL & Lawyer. Züleyha APAYDIN
