You have lost a civil lawsuit and consider the decision to be wrong. You want to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, known as the ECHR. In this hypothetical example, the question is not just whether you are dissatisfied with the outcome, but whether the situation raises a problem regarding a right protected by the European Convention on Human Rights. The ECHR is not […]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) examines complaints regarding a state’s violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. It is not an appellate court for any national decision and, usually, it does not re-examine the facts or the interpretation of domestic law just because a party disagrees with the solution. Who can file a […]

Brief Introduction Many applications to the European Court of Human Rights are declared inadmissible for procedural or jurisdictional reasons. Verification of the form, deadlines, and exhaustion of internal remedies is essential before filing. The Court’s official sources frequently list and explain the errors made by applicants and representatives; the following observations summarize those errors and offer solutions […]

The Court does not function as an appellate court of national courts. It does not freely review the evidence or the assessment of facts made by domestic courts and cannot replace the assessment of appropriateness by national courts or bodies. This is the doctrinal expression of the rule-of-thumb: the ECHR „is not the fourth instance”. Therefore, a request that has in […]