Application to the European Court of Human Rights

I. What is an Application to the European Court of Human Rights?

The European Court of Human Rights is a monitoring procedure foreseen by the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court monitors whether states have violated the rights signed under the European Convention on Human Rights and whether states have demonstrated respect for these rights. It is an international judicial body located in Strasbourg.

For the activity to be carried out, the application to the European Court of Human Rights must be completed. If it is determined that one or more of the rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights have been violated by a state, the application is interrupted. The state must hear this decision at the time the Court delivers it.

Human rights protected by the ECHR;

The European Court of Human Rights includes the following rights:

• Right to Life,
• Prohibition of Torture,
• Prohibition of Slavery and Forced Labour,
• Right to Liberty and Security,
• Right to a Fair Trial,
• Principle of No Punishment Without Law,
• Right to Respect for Private and Family Life,
• Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion,
• Freedom of Expression,
• Freedom of Assembly and Association,
• Right to Marry,
• Right to an Effective Remedy,
• Prohibition of Discrimination,
• Right to Education,
• Right to Free Elections,
• Right to Property.

Applications to the European Court of Human Rights can be made against the freedom of the state or against foreigners. Both natural and legal persons have the right to apply. However, the applicant must be exempt due to the nature of the procedure. Furthermore, applications can be made against one or more states. Applying to the European Court of Human Rights is free of charge. You only need to cover the postage costs.

II. Conditions for Application to the European Court of Human Rights

1. Exhaustion of Domestic Remedies

The European Court of Human Rights is a natural protection system. Therefore, national courts must first make a decision. If you apply to the Court without exhausting all domestic legal remedies, the preliminary examination will be rejected. All legal remedies must be exhausted before applying to the Constitutional Court. In addition, it is mandatory to have alleged human rights violations in domestic legal remedies.

You can apply to the European Court of Human Rights after you are notified of the Constitutional Court’s decision. If you appeal or seek confirmation and the decision becomes final, you cannot apply to the European Court of Human Rights.

2. Application within Four Months

It is mandatory to apply to the European Court of Human Rights within four months of exhausting domestic legal remedies. This date, relevant to the region, is the date you are notified of the Constitutional Court’s decision. The date recorded by the ECHR is the date you mailed the application. The date the mail reached the Court is not known.

3. Complaint Directed Against a State Party to the Convention

The application must be made against a state that is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights. When your liberty is violated by a person who is not a party to the European Convention on Human Rights, this matter will not be examined by the court.

4. Existence of Significant Harm

Changes to the admissibility criteria of the European Convention on Human Rights have added the existence of significant harm. This change was made to prevent the court from considering insignificant cases and dealing with minor harms, and to reorganize the case. If the court concludes that the decision does not involve significant harm, individual applications are deemed inadmissible. For example, if you claim a violation of your rights for a small monetary loss, your application may be rejected because significant harm has not been found.

III. European Court of Human Rights Application Form

The most important aspect when applying to the European Court of Human Rights is the application form. The application must be completed. You can access the form via the European Court of Human Rights Application Form link. You can fill out the application file in Turkish. If the person’s identity needs to remain confidential, you must state this request with a reasoned explanation in your application.

Application form;

• The application must include the applicant’s personal information,
• The state against which the application is made,
• The information of the lawyer or representative if the application is made through them,
• The statements regarding the subject of the application,
• How the European Convention on Human Rights is distributed,
• Explanations regarding your statements on the admissibility criteria,
• A list of documents to be attached to the application,
• The signatures of the applicant and their representative.

IV. Application Process to the European Court of Human Rights and Types of Decisions

You can submit an application to the European Court of Human Rights by completing the application and sending it along with its attachments to “67075 Strasbourg Cedex France” in France. After your application is sent to the Court, the Court first examines the admissibility conditions. If the Court decides that the application meets the admissibility conditions, the initial examination will proceed.

The initial examination may be conducted by a single judge, the Committee, or a Chamber.

The initial examination can be conducted by a single judge, the Committee, or a Chamber. If the application is manifestly inadmissible because it does not meet all the necessary admissibility criteria, the decision is made by a single judge. If the application concerns a matter on which the Court has previously ruled in numerous cases, it is considered by the Committee. lf the application is of a type not previously before the Court, it is considered by the Chamber.

During the initial examination, a decision of inadmissibility, a decision of admissibility, or a joint examination of admissibility and the merits may be made. If an inadmissibility decision is made, your application will be rejected.

Interim measures

The European Court of Human Rights can also issue interim measures binding on the Member State of the Convention. Interim measures are issued after examining all relevant documents. Exceptionally, requests for interim measures can also be made through the Court’s website at “https://r39.echr.coe.int“.

The Court decides on an interim measure only if it concludes that the applicant is genuinely at risk of serious, irreversible harm if the measure is not implemented. If you are requesting a preliminary injunction, you must submit all supporting documents to the court along with your application.

Compensation Claims

Requests for preliminary injunctions are particularly applicable to decisions concerning deportation cases. The country of deportation, date, and time must also be stated in the application. However, in cases where a final decision is imminent and there is a risk of immediate execution, applicants may request a preliminary injunction without waiting for the decision, clearly stating the expected date of the decision and indicating that the request is contingent upon a negative final local decision. After deciding on admissibility or examining both admissibility and merits, the court notifies the Government.

The application is sent to the Government, and the Government is invited to submit its written opinions. The Government’s responses are then forwarded to you, and you are asked to indicate whether you are requesting compensation. If you do not request compensation at this stage, the court will not award compensation in your favor, even if you have requested it in the application form.

Following these stages, the court examines whether the right in question has been violated. This review results in a decision of violation or no violation.

If the court finds a violation, it orders the state to pay compensation, take general measures such as legislative changes, or take individual measures such as reopening the case. States party to the European Convention on Human Rights are obliged to comply with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.