How to lodge a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights

Quick summary

• A complaint to the ECHR is not “another appeal”, but an extraordinary means of protecting rights.
• You must exhaust all remedies in the Czech Republic.
• The time limit is only 4 months from the final decision.
• 90% of complaints are rejected for formal errors.
• Good legal reasoning greatly increases the chances of a hearing.

You can only lodge a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) if there has been a violation of the rights protected by the Convention, you have exhausted all domestic remedies (including a constitutional complaint) and you lodge it within 4 months of the final decision. The key is a properly completed complaint, documented evidence and sound legal reasoning. Most complaints (about 90%) are rejected for not meeting the conditions.

Not sure if your complaint has a chance? We can help you assess your case and prepare your submission so that it has a realistic chance of being accepted.

European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is a judicial institution within the Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, France. Its main mission is to protect and ensure respect for the rights and freedoms set out in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

This Convention guarantees fundamental human rights and freedoms in European states, including the right to life, the prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment, the prohibition of slavery and forced labour, the right to a fair trial, freedom of thought, conscience, religion, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, and the right to respect for private and family life.

The ECtHR receives complaints from individuals, groups of persons or even states alleging violations of their rights protected by the Convention. ECtHR decisions are binding on member states, which are obliged to comply with them. This may include changes to legislation or the payment of compensation to aggrieved parties.

When you can complain

To lodge a complaint with the European Court of Justice, you must meet three conditions:

Your rights or freedoms have been violated

You can only lodge a complaint if you think there has been a violation of your rights under the Convention. This violation may be caused by an act or omission by a state authority or other authority under the jurisdiction and responsibility of a Council of Europe member state.

A complaint cannot be based solely on dissatisfaction with a national decision, but must contain convincing arguments as to why that decision violates the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights.

You have exhausted domestic remedies

You must first exhaust all possibilities and remedies available under national law. This means that you must use all the remedies available to you before the national courts. So, if it is a court decision, you have to go through all the stages of appeal and, if possible, use other remedies such as an appeal or an appeal.

If you believe that your fundamental human rights have been violated, you still have the option of lodging a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court. This is our main court responsible for upholding human rights and constitutional order. However, this is only possible after you have exhausted all of the traditional remedies that we have mentioned above.

The ECtHR assumes that national courts have primary responsibility for the protection of human rights. To avoid bringing a complaint before the ECtHR in cases where the problem can be resolved at the national level, it is important to exhaust all available remedies.

You have complied with the deadline for filing a complaint

Once you have exhausted your domestic remedies, you must lodge a complaint with the ECtHR within four months of the date on which a final decision is given under the national legal system. This time limit is fixed and compliance with this condition is crucial for your complaint to be accepted for consideration by the ECtHR.

A final decision is a decision of a national court which is final and cannot be challenged by further appeals within the national legal system.

From our law practice

Ms Janáčková contacted us after she had been seeking protection of her rights in the Czech courts for several years. She felt that her case violated her right to a fair trial because the courts repeatedly refused to take important evidence and failed to deal sufficiently with her objections. Having failed on appeal and having exhausted other available remedies, including a constitutional complaint, we considered whether her case met the conditions for a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights. After a detailed analysis, we redrafted the complaint to clearly identify the violation of the specific rights protected by the Convention and to refer to the relevant case law of the ECtHR. As a result, the complaint was accepted for consideration, which in itself is a crucial step that most submissions fail to achieve.

How to write a complaint

There is an official form to fill in to lodge a complaint. You will need to enter the following information:

• Identifying information: your name, surname, date of birth, nationality, address and contact details, and the identifying details of your representative (if you have one).
• Country against which you are making a complaint
• Subject matter of the complaint: Briefly and clearly describe the events and situation in which the violation of your rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights occurred. Give specific dates, places and details relevant to your complaint.
• Evidence: Attach any relevant evidence that supports your allegations of a violation of rights. This may include copies of court decisions, administrative documents, letters, photographs, witness statements, etc.
• Steps taken: Inform the ECtHR of any steps you have taken at national level to defend your rights. Please indicate what steps you have taken before the national courts and what the outcome has been.
• Legal reasoning: Provide legal arguments and analysis as to why you believe there has been a violation of the Convention and what the legal consequences of this should be under international law.

You can write your complaint in Czech. You must fill in the form in full, otherwise the European Court may reject your complaint. The completed complaint with copies of all related documents should be sent by registered mail to the ECtHR address:

The Registrar

European Court of Human Rights

Council of Europe

67075 Strasbourg cedex

FRANCE

In addition to the traditional paper submission, it is advisable to take into account that communication with the European Court of Human Rights is nowadays significantly digitised. If the complainant is represented by a lawyer and the case reaches the stage of communication with the government, the court can introduce electronic communication through the eComms system. In such a case, further documents are usually sent and served electronically, which speeds up the proceedings and increases the overview of the status of the case.

How the complaint procedure before the European Court of Justice works

Your complaint will be heard by either a single judge, a committee or a chamber. It will go to a single judge if it is clearly inadmissible (e.g. if you have not met one of the conditions). The decision of the single judge on inadmissibility is final and you cannot appeal against it.

If your complaint is a routine matter, it will go to a committee of three. Its decision is final and cannot be appealed. If it is not a recurring matter, it goes to a seven-member panel. The latter can declare your complaint inadmissible or admissible. If it finds it admissible, it will give the state an opportunity to comment on the matter. The government’s position will then be sent to you by the ESPL and you can comment on it.

In complex cases, complaints are heard by a panel of 17 judges. You can also appeal to this panel if you disagree with the decision of the seven-member panel. You have 3 months to do so, but the European Court of Justice only grants such requests in really exceptional situations.

It is also important to have realistic expectations. The European Court of Human Rights rejects as inadmissible about 90% of the complaints it receives, mostly because they do not meet the formal conditions or because their content does not show a possible violation of the rights protected by the Convention. In practice, therefore, the Court does not deal with every alleged injustice, but primarily with those cases in which a fundamental violation of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Convention is at least arguably alleged. The more accurately the complaint is constructed, substantiated and legally justified, the more likely it is to pass the admissibility test.

That is why it is worthwhile to contact a lawyer experienced in the protection of fundamental rights in such cases. He or she will be able to assess whether the conditions for admissibility of the complaint are met, help with the legal reasoning and prepare all the necessary documents. While a well-prepared submission will not guarantee success, it will significantly increase the chances that the court will deal with the complaint in a substantive manner.

Finally, it should be emphasised that court proceedings can be lengthy. Unless your complaint is exceptionally serious, then it is relegated to those with the greatest urgency. Also, the European Court does not have to acknowledge receipt of your complaint, nor does it have to notify you of the date of the hearing. In fact, it receives more than 50,000 applications a year and this process would be very administratively demanding for it.

What decisions can you expect

If your complaint is upheld, the court will issue a judgment. This may say that there has been no breach of the Convention, in which case nothing will change for you. However, if it concludes that there has been a breach of the Convention, it may order the state to compensate you for the harm you have suffered. It can also suggest measures that should be taken to remedy or compensate for the violation. Enforcement of the decision is then monitored by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

Summary

Filing a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights is a challenging process that rests on three pillars: meeting the conditions of admissibility, meeting the time limit and making sound legal arguments. It is not a normal appeal – the Court only deals with fundamental rights violations. That is why most complaints end up being dismissed without a hearing. The key is to correctly identify the violation of the Convention, structure the argumentation and support everything with relevant evidence. It is in these steps that success is decided.