The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is an international judicial body before which individuals may bring complaints alleging violations of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Contrary to a common misconception, an application to the Court is not an "appeal" of a domestic judgment — it is a separate legal remedy governed by its own strict procedural rules.

What the ECtHR Is Not

The ECtHR is not a court of "fourth instance." It does not re-examine how national courts assessed evidence or interpreted domestic law. Its review is confined to whether a right guaranteed under the Convention has been violated. Stating that a domestic ruling was "wrong" is not enough — the applicant must show which Convention provision was engaged and precisely how it was violated.

Admissibility Criteria — Article 35 ECHR

For an application to proceed to the merits, it must satisfy the admissibility criteria set out in Article 35 of the Convention:

Exhaustion of domestic remedies (Art. 35 § 1): The applicant must have exhausted all effective remedies available under the domestic legal system before applying to the Court, including any relevant constitutional or supreme court remedy where one exists. Simply having litigated is not enough — the alleged violation must have been explicitly and properly raised during the domestic proceedings.

The four-month time limit (Art. 35 § 1): Since 1 February 2022, this period has been reduced from six months to four months, running from the date the final domestic decision was notified. This deadline is strict, and missing it results in outright rejection.

A right falling within the scope of the Convention (Art. 35 § 3(a)): The complaint must relate to a right protected under the Convention or its Protocols.

Not manifestly ill-founded (Art. 35 § 3(a)): The application must raise a serious, substantiated legal issue.

Significant disadvantage (Art. 35 § 3(b)): The applicant must show that they suffered a significant disadvantage, though this criterion does not apply where the case raises a serious issue that has not been duly considered domestically.

Procedural Requirements — Rule 47

Separately from the admissibility criteria, the formal requirements for lodging an application are set out in Rule 47 of the Rules of Court. It requires the application to include:

  • the applicant's identifying details (name, nationality, date of birth, address), or those of a representative,
  • the respondent State(s),
  • a concise and legible statement of the facts,
  • a concise statement of which Convention articles were violated and briefly why,
  • confirmation of when domestic remedies were exhausted and that the four-month limit was met,
  • the redress sought,
  • a chronological, numbered list of supporting documents (legible copies, not originals, as documents are not returned).

The application must be lodged on the official form and signed by the applicant or their authorised representative, accompanied by a signed authority form where applicable. It may be submitted by post or, where available, through the Court's electronic filing system; plain email or fax submissions are not accepted as valid lodgment.

This is not a mere administrative formality. A missing signature, missing documents, an unclear statement of facts, or a failure to specify which Convention articles are relied upon can lead the Registry to refuse registration, or to treat the date of a later, corrected submission as the effective date of introduction. Since the four-month deadline under Article 35 runs continuously, a defect corrected too late can time-bar an otherwise strong application. For this reason, the form itself should be treated as a substantive part of the application, not a mere cover sheet.

Turkut Legal is a Berlin-based legal consultancy. It advises on ECtHR individual application procedures. To assess whether your application meets the admissibility criteria, get in touch with us. Counsel available in Turkish, English and German.