MEETING 1
INDIVIDUAL COMPLAINT PROCEDURE, ADMISSIBILITY CRITERIA
AND EXECUTION OF
JUDGMENTS
Judgments
Salah Sheekh v. The Netherlands (par. 119-124)
Nikolova and Velichkova v. Bulgaria (par. 45-61)
Broniowski v. Poland (par. 188-200)
Burdov v. Russia (no.2) (par. 122-146)
Gerasimov and Others v. Russia (par. 157-166 and 206-232)
Assignment
Describe the procedure before the European Court. Make use of the Rules of
Court and refer to them. Start with submission of the application and end with
the delivery of the final judgment.
Procedure before the European Court of Human Rights:
1. Application
Most applications originate in a letter to the Registrar setting out a complaint.
The case is given a file number and allocated to a lawyer in the registry from
the State against which the complaint is made. Applicants may be
represented by lawyers, but they can act in person too until the case is
communicated to the respondent State. The Court has two official languages
(article 34(1) of the Convention), but applicants can correspond with the Court
in the State’s language.
a. An introductory letter twill be written by the registry lawyer to the
applicant asking for further information. See article 47 of the
Convention.
b. When the material submitted by the applicant is on its own sufficient to
show that the application is inadmissible or should be struck off the
Court’s list of cases, a single judge will examine the file and decide
whether or not to declare it inadmissible. Where the application doesn’t
appear to be clearly inadmissible, a procedure will be started.
2. Examination on admissibility
Organs
a. Single Judge procedure Article 27 ECHR. They can declare
applications inadmissible or strike them of the Court’s list of cases. So
they only deal with clearly inadmissible cases.
b. Committee procedure Article 28 ECHR. They deal with examining
admissibility and the merits of repetitive cases.
c. Chamber procedure Article 29 ECHR. The Court is divided into 5
sections, who try to achieve geographic and gender balance. Within
these sections, the seven-judge Chambers examine admissibility and
merits both of individual applications and inter-State cases.
d. Grand Chamber procedure Article 30-31 ECHR. Read article 31 for its
functioning. According to article 43, a party to a case is allowed to
request that it’s referred to the Grand Chamber after the Chamber has
given judgment.
Conditions of admissibility?
a. Can the applicant claim to be a victim?
Article 33 Inter-State cases don’t have this problem, the state only has
to be a Contracting Party.
INDIVIDUAL COMPLAINT PROCEDURE, ADMISSIBILITY CRITERIA
AND EXECUTION OF
JUDGMENTS
Judgments
Salah Sheekh v. The Netherlands (par. 119-124)
Nikolova and Velichkova v. Bulgaria (par. 45-61)
Broniowski v. Poland (par. 188-200)
Burdov v. Russia (no.2) (par. 122-146)
Gerasimov and Others v. Russia (par. 157-166 and 206-232)
Assignment
Describe the procedure before the European Court. Make use of the Rules of
Court and refer to them. Start with submission of the application and end with
the delivery of the final judgment.
Procedure before the European Court of Human Rights:
1. Application
Most applications originate in a letter to the Registrar setting out a complaint.
The case is given a file number and allocated to a lawyer in the registry from
the State against which the complaint is made. Applicants may be
represented by lawyers, but they can act in person too until the case is
communicated to the respondent State. The Court has two official languages
(article 34(1) of the Convention), but applicants can correspond with the Court
in the State’s language.
a. An introductory letter twill be written by the registry lawyer to the
applicant asking for further information. See article 47 of the
Convention.
b. When the material submitted by the applicant is on its own sufficient to
show that the application is inadmissible or should be struck off the
Court’s list of cases, a single judge will examine the file and decide
whether or not to declare it inadmissible. Where the application doesn’t
appear to be clearly inadmissible, a procedure will be started.
2. Examination on admissibility
Organs
a. Single Judge procedure Article 27 ECHR. They can declare
applications inadmissible or strike them of the Court’s list of cases. So
they only deal with clearly inadmissible cases.
b. Committee procedure Article 28 ECHR. They deal with examining
admissibility and the merits of repetitive cases.
c. Chamber procedure Article 29 ECHR. The Court is divided into 5
sections, who try to achieve geographic and gender balance. Within
these sections, the seven-judge Chambers examine admissibility and
merits both of individual applications and inter-State cases.
d. Grand Chamber procedure Article 30-31 ECHR. Read article 31 for its
functioning. According to article 43, a party to a case is allowed to
request that it’s referred to the Grand Chamber after the Chamber has
given judgment.
Conditions of admissibility?
a. Can the applicant claim to be a victim?
Article 33 Inter-State cases don’t have this problem, the state only has
to be a Contracting Party.
