Applying to the European Court of Human Rights from the U.S.

Who can apply from the U.S.

Article 34 of the Convention lets the Court receive applications from any person, non-governmental organisation or group claiming to be the victim of a violation by a state party. Article 1 makes each state responsible for everyone within its jurisdiction. Your nationality and where you live now are not the test; the state's responsibility for the act or decision is.

A person living in Texas or New York may therefore apply against Turkey about a Turkish court decision or a measure of the Turkish authorities, if the admissibility conditions are met.

The United States is not a party to the Convention. A complaint about a U.S. agency or court cannot be brought before this Court.

The admissibility conditions

The Court also rejects anonymous applications, applications that are manifestly ill-founded or an abuse, and cases where the applicant has not suffered a significant disadvantage (Article 35 §§ 2–3).

The four months run from when you or your lawyer had sufficient knowledge of the final decision. Where you are entitled to be served with a copy, the Guide says the period runs from the date of service; if your lawyer learned of the decision first, it runs from your lawyer's knowledge (Admissibility Guide §§ 201–204). Keep proof of every notification date.

• Victim. You must be personally affected by the act or decision you complain about (Article 34).
• Domestic remedies. You must first use the remedies available in the respondent state (Article 35 § 1).
• Four months. You must apply within four months of the final domestic decision (Article 35 § 1). The limit was six months before Protocol No. 15; the Court's Admissibility Guide says four months applies from 1 February 2022 and not to final decisions taken before the Protocol entered into force on 1 August 2021.
• Not elsewhere. The Court will not deal with an application that is substantially the same as a matter it has already examined, or one already submitted to another international procedure, unless there is relevant new information (Article 35 § 2(b)).

The first step for Turkey: the Constitutional Court

The Court's Admissibility Guide cites Uzun v. Turkey (decision, 30 April 2013) on when an individual application to a constitutional court must be used first. For a complaint against Turkey, plan on applying to the Constitutional Court (Anayasa Mahkemesi) before Strasbourg.

Under Law No. 6216 (Article 47 § 5), the individual application is due within 30 days of exhausting the ordinary remedies, or of learning of the violation where no remedy exists. A person prevented by a valid excuse may apply within 15 days after the excuse ends, with proof.

The application can be filed directly, through Turkish courts, or through Turkish missions abroad (Article 47 § 1), which matters for people in the U.S. A fee applies (Article 47 § 2). If documents are missing, the Constitutional Court gives up to 15 days to complete them (Article 47 § 6).

Rule 47: the form decides whether the clock stops

A form that does not meet these requirements is not examined (Rule 47 § 5.1). If the deadline has passed by the time the form is corrected, the application is lost.

You may write in an official language of a state party, such as Turkish, until the respondent government is given notice of the case (Rule 34 § 2). A lawyer is not required at this first stage (Practice Direction § 9).

• Use the Court's official application form and fill in every applicable field in words, not symbols or abbreviations (Rule 47 § 1; Practice Direction § 6).
• Put the facts, the complaints and the explanation of how you met the admissibility criteria on the form itself; a note saying “see attached” is not enough (Practice Direction § 7).
• Add further explanations, if needed, in a separate document of no more than 20 pages (Rule 47 § 2(b)).
• Attach copies of the decisions you complain about and of the documents showing exhaustion and the time limit, listed by date and numbered (Rule 47 § 3.1–3.2).
• Sign the form. If a lawyer represents you, both of you sign the authority section with original signatures; a separate power of attorney is not accepted at this stage (Rule 47 § 1(c); Practice Direction § 9).
• Post it to: The Registrar, European Court of Human Rights, Council of Europe, 67075 Strasbourg Cedex, France. The date of introduction is the postmark of a form that meets Rule 47 (Rule 47 § 6). A fax does not stop the clock; the signed original must also be posted within the four months (Practice Direction § 3).

After a judgment

Judgments are binding on the respondent state (Article 46 § 1). The final judgment is transmitted to the Committee of Ministers, which supervises its execution (Article 46 § 2).

Under the Committee's working methods, the state is to submit an action plan, or an action report, within six months of the judgment becoming final (Committee of Ministers annual report, published on echr.coe.int).

If a state refuses to abide by a final judgment, the Committee may refer the question to the Court by a two-thirds majority of the representatives entitled to sit on it (Article 46 § 4). The Grand Chamber gave its first judgment in such proceedings in Ilgar Mammadov v. Azerbaijan on 29 May 2019. In Kavala v. Türkiye, referred on 2 February 2022, the Grand Chamber found on 11 July 2022, by 16 votes to 1, that Turkey had failed to comply with the 2019 judgment.

Reopening the Turkish case after a violation

In criminal cases, the Code of Criminal Procedure (Law No. 5271, Article 311(1)(f)) allows a request for retrial within one year of the ECtHR judgment becoming final.

In civil cases, the Code of Civil Procedure (Law No. 6100, Articles 375(1)(i) and 377) allows a request within three months of notification of the final ECtHR judgment, and in any event within ten years of the domestic judgment becoming final.

Reopening is not automatic: you must apply, and the Turkish court decides. That part is Turkish law, handled with the firm's lawyers licensed in Turkey (Istanbul Bar); any U.S. side, such as an immigration filing that relies on the judgment, is handled by the firm's U.S.-licensed attorneys.

The ECtHR or the UN Human Rights Committee?

Turkey ratified the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on 24 November 2006 (UN Treaty Collection), so individual communications to the UN Human Rights Committee are also possible. The same matter cannot go to both: Article 35 § 2(b) of the Convention bars an application already submitted to another international procedure. Choose the forum before filing. See human rights applications.