Communication is the notification of the application to the respondent Government.

The proceedings may then be divided into two consecutive phases. During the non-contentious phase, the parties are invited to explore the possibility of a friendly settlement, within a period of 12 weeks. If they do not reach an agreement, the proceedings enter a contentious phase during which they exchange their observations.
Procedure following communication of an application – non-contentious phase
Procedure following communication of an application – contentious phase

The proceedings may also consist in a single phase if such division is not appropriate, in which case the question of a possible friendly settlement and the exchange of observations will be dealt with simultaneously.

Procedure following communication of an application – single phase

 

The Central Office sorts the mail and sends your application to the legal division whose job it is to deal with it, that is, the legal division responsible for the State against which the application is lodged. An application against Germany, for example, will be sent to the legal division that deals with German cases, because the people working in that division speak German and are familiar with the country’s legislation. Your case will then be given a number and examined by a lawyer. This does not necessarily mean that the Court has accepted your application; it just means that it has been registered. If the Court contacts you, you must reply within the specified time, otherwise your file may simply be rejected or destroyed. Once the Court has all the information it needs to examine your case, your application will be allocated to one of the Court’s judicial formations. Throughout the proceedings, even if they seem to be taking a long time, you must wait for the Court to contact you. Because of the large number of applications it receives every year (over 50,000) and the even larger number of cases pending before it, the Court cannot acknowledge receipt of the letters and documents it receives or tell you approximately when your case will be examined. The proceedings before the Court are in writing. Any information you wish to bring to the Court’s attention must be communicated in writing.

 

https://www.echr.coe.int/Pages/home.aspx?p=applicants/application

 

The application form should be downloaded, completed, printed out and sent by post to the Court with the necessary documents. No other form must be used.

The form will work correctly only with Adobe Reader 9 upwards and is only supported under the Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. Please ensure you have Adobe Reader installed on your computer (download available from www.adobe.com).

1. Save a copy of the form

• Right-click on the link or icon above
• According to your browser, choose one of available options “Save target as”, “Save Link As” or “Download Linked File As…”
• Save the form on your computer in a chosen location.

2. Fill in the form

• Open the saved copy of the form in Adobe Reader from the chosen location
• Fill in the form and save it.
• Once you have completed the form, you should print it, sign it and post it to the Court.

Application_Form_ENG (4)

If you decide to apply to the Court, please ensure that your application complies with Rule 47 of the Rules of Court, which sets out the information and documents that must be provided.

Failure to provide any of the information or documents required by Rule 47 §§ 1 and 2 will result in the complaints not being examined by the Court. It is imperative that all fields in the application form are filled in.

A valid application will be examined by the Court; this does not mean that the application will be declared admissible.

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Rule_47_ENG