How Do You Take a Claim to the European Court of Human Rights?

To take a claim to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), you normally try to resolve it through the courts in your own country first. If you still believe a state has breached your rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, you can apply to the ECtHR in Strasbourg.

Before applying

You must be a victim of the alleged breach: the Convention violation must affect you directly. The claim must be against a state bound by the Convention, not simply against another private person. You must also exhaust domestic remedies, meaning you have used the available and effective legal routes in your own country. In a UK claim, that will usually mean raising the human rights issue in the UK courts before going to Strasbourg.

Making the application

You must submit a completed application form with the required documents. The usual deadline is four months from the final domestic decision. Your application should identify what happened, which Convention right you say was breached, and what steps you took in the domestic courts.

The Court first decides whether the application is admissible, meaning it meets the rules for the Court to consider it. If it passes that stage, the state may be asked to respond. The case may then be settled or proceed to a judgment. If the Court finds a violation, it may award compensation, called just satisfaction. The state must abide by the final judgment.

Exam mistake to avoid: the ECtHR is not another appeal court for every decision you disagree with. Your claim must concern an alleged breach of a Convention right, and you normally cannot skip the domestic courts.