What is the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)?
The European Court of Human Rights is an international judicial body established in 1959 to protect certain fundamental rights and freedoms. T he European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) regulates the rights and freedoms protected under the court’s jurisdiction. The ECHR is the most fundamental human rights document, defining both the right of individual application and the limits of the ECHR’s jurisdiction.
In order to apply to the European Court of Human Rights, all ordinary domestic legal remedies must have been exhausted. Even if all domestic legal remedies have not been exhausted at the time of application, it will be examined whether they have been exhausted by the date on which the ECHR decides on the individual application.
Applications to the ECHR are made using the “ECHR Individual Application Form”. The application form must be completed in accordance with the procedure, otherwise the application may be rejected as non-compliant.
Who Can Apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)?
According to the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, the following natural or legal persons and communities have the right to submit an individual application to the ECHR:
States that believe a right protected under the Convention (ECHR) has been violated by another State Party
have the right to apply to the ECHR.
Individuals who believe their rights protected under the Convention have been violated have the right to file an individual application.
Private legal entities have the right to apply.
Applications on behalf of children must be made by the mother or father who has legal standing.
Civil society organizations and groups of individuals have the right to apply to the ECHR. Religious communities, trade unions, political parties, associations, and de facto communities that do not have legal personality but are united around the same interest and therefore believe that one of the rights defined in the Convention has been violated have the right to apply to the ECHR. Civil society organizations and groups may only apply on behalf of themselves if they have suffered harm. Civil society organizations or communities cannot apply on behalf of their members to represent them in cases of individual grievances.
If the individual applicant dies during the application process, their heirs may continue the application by submitting a certificate of inheritance.
It is not mandatory for the application to be made by a lawyer. However, after the admissibility decision is made, the court requires the application to be made through a lawyer. Therefore, it is beneficial for the application to be made and conducted by a lawyer from the outset to prevent any problems that may arise and to prevent the application from being rejected for any reason.
Application Period and Method to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
The application period to the ECHR is 6 months from the date when domestic legal remedies have been exhausted or the rights violation occurred.
The official languages of the ECHR are French and English.
However, the initial application may also be submitted in the official language of the contracting state. For example, a citizen residing in Turkey may complete the individual application form in Turkish. The documents to be attached do not need to be translated.
After a decision has been made on the admissibility of the individual application, the application is forwarded to the government of the state in which the application was made for its opinion. After the application is forwarded to the government, correspondence must be in French, English, or as required. However, at this stage, with the permission of the President of the Court, the applicant may continue to communicate in the official language of the State Party. The language of the application will be only English or French, but the letters and decisions sent to the applicant by the Court will be in English or French.
To apply to the ECtHR, the application form prepared by the court must be completed and signed. If the application is made through a representative, the power of attorney prepared by the court must be signed by the applicant and the representative. The documents to be attached and the court decisions must be numbered in chronological order and attached to the form. Please also attach a photocopy of the applicant’s identity document to the application. The application form and other documents must be placed in an unperforated envelope and placed in a file or folder. Individual applications and attachments must be sent by registered mail to the following address of the ECHR:
European Court of Human Rights Postal Address: European Court of Human Rights, Council of Europe, 67075 Strasbourg Cedex – FRANCE
The ECHR’s Examination of Applications and Decision Process
Once an individual application reaches the ECHR, a letter is sent to the applicant confirming that the application has been received and registered. If the application has any deficiencies, the applicant may be asked to remedy them.
Upon initial examination, the ECHR may decide that the individual application is inadmissible on the grounds that it is out of time, domestic remedies have not been exhausted, the subject matter of the application is trivial, there is no basis for the application, or any other reason deemed inadmissible by the Court. Decisions of inadmissibility by the ECHR are final.
If the application is not declared inadmissible after the initial examination, the parties’ views on the amicable settlement of the case are generally requested by sending a “STATEMENT” to both parties, i.e., both the applicant and the contracting state government, depending on the subject matter and importance of the case. I f the parties send the signed statement to the court, together with a letter indicating their acceptance of the statement, the court concludes the application by deciding that the compensation amount specified in the statement shall be paid to the applicant by the contracting state. If the parties do not accept the statement, they must send a letter to the court explaining the reasons for their non-acceptance and stating that they do not accept the statement.
The name and number of the application must be written on the documents sent to the ECtHR, and in case of loss, they must be sent by registered mail with return receipt requested. A copy of the documents and papers sent to the ECtHR must be kept in the applicant’s own file.
If the case cannot be resolved amicably, the ECHR, in its admissibility decision, informs the relevant government of the application and requests a response from the contracting government on the matter, indicating which articles of the Convention may have been violated based on the content of the application.
After receiving the government’s responses, the ECHR sends these responses to the applicant by letter no later than the date specified in the letter; the applicant is requested to provide their response to the government’s answers, their compensation claims, the costs incurred for the application, and the attorney’s fees they will request. Documents relating to the compensation, costs, and attorney’s fees requested must also be sent. If legal fees are requested, the ECHR requires a photocopy of the invoice for the independent professional services. Otherwise, it will not pay the legal fees or will determine a lower amount it deems appropriate. A photocopy of the documents to be sent is sufficient.
One of the most common mistakes made in ECHR applications is as follows:
The applicant writes the amount of compensation they are seeking in the application form, but subsequently, after receiving the government’s responses, they do not repeat their request in the reply petition that must be submitted, stating that they had already written it in the application form. The ECtHR does not take into account the compensation amounts written in the application form. In the reply to the government’s responses, it requests that the amounts of material and non-material compensation be rewritten.
Therefore, even if the amount of compensation requested is written in the application form, when the government’s responses are received and fair compensation claims are requested, the amount of material and moral compensation requested must be rewritten, and documents relating to attorney’s fees and expenses must be submitted. Otherwise, even if the court finds a violation, no compensation will be awarded. In fact, it is sufficient to request the claims section of the application form in order to identify the violations specified in the application form and to remedy the material and moral damages suffered as a result of the violation.
Urgent Application and Request for Interim Measures to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
If there is a possibility that the applicant’s right to life and prohibition of torture will be violated in the country to which they will be deported, or if the applicant’s right to life and prohibition of torture has been violated, an urgent application may be made to request an interim measure. In this case, the court will notify the government of the application as soon as possible and request information.The ECtHR may, if it deems necessary, issue an interim measure to prevent a violation and request that the relevant government implement the measures taken.