The EUROPEAN COURT of HUMAN RIGHTS - the treatment of

To start to define what the "European court of human rights" (hereinafter the Court) is an international body, which under certain conditions may consider the applications filed by persons who claim the violation of their rights contained in the European Convention on human rights.

The Convention is a multilateral international Treaty under which most European States have undertaken to adhere to certain basic rights, including Ukraine.

These rights are outlined in the Convention and its Protocols (Protocols no 1, 4, 6, 7 and 13), a consent on obligatory of which is given by individual States.

You can appeal to the European Court if they believe that You personally and directly a victim of a violation by one state of one or more fundamental rights.

The European Court may consider only those statements, which deals with the violation of one or more rights guaranteed by the Convention and its Protocols.

It is noteworthy that the European Court is not an appellate court or appeal in relation to national jurisdictions and is not empowered either to cancel or change their decision. It also does not apply to a court of fourth instance cases.

The European Court also may not on Your behalf directly to interfere in the activities of the authority, which is directed against Your statement.

The European Court may consider only those statements that are directed against States that have ratified the Convention or relevant Protocols, and which relate to events which occurred after the date of ratification.

You can go to Court only with complaints about the facts, which is responsible for organ of government (legislative, Executive, judicial, etc.) of one of these States.

The court does not consider statements against private persons or non-governmental organizations.

Under article 35 § 1 of the Convention, the Court accepts the application for consideration only after one has used all domestic remedies, and only within six months from the date of the final decision. The court cannot consider the merits of the statement, which does not meet the conditions of admissibility. The recovery period is not provided, however, if there are good reasons for admission this term to try to make a statement if desired.

It is extremely important that before contacting the Court You have exhausted all remedies in the state against which a directional statement that could lead to a positive solution of a question which are the subject of the appeal; in the opposite case, You will need to prove that such remedies are ineffective. For example, for Ukraine, the European court accepts the case even after the appellate court believing that the court of cassation "a priori" is ineffective.

Using appropriate protection, You should adhere to national procedural rules, in particular the foreseen legal deadlines. For example, if Your claim was rejected due to the fact that was missed the appeal deadline, or through non-observance of rules of jurisdiction or authority, or violation of statutory procedural rules, the Court cannot consider Your application.

However, if You had appealed against the decision, in particular, the sentence, You do not have to make attempts to initiate the procedure for a retrial after passing through the ordinary judicial appeal procedures.

Also do not have to use a non-judicial procedure, or to seek pardon or Amnesty. Petitions (to Parliament, the President of state or government, Minister or the Commissioner for human rights) are not considered remedies that must be used.

For the submission of application to the Court You have six months after a final decision by a competent court or authority. The six-month period will be deducted from the reading You or Your lawyer with the final judicial decision in the ordinary appeal, and not since a further failure to renew the trial of Your case, consider Your request for pardon or Amnesty or any other petition to the authorities.

The course of the six-month period terminated at the time of receipt of the Complaint or Your first sheet, which is clearly laid out - at least in summary form - the subject of the statements which You intend to submit, or filled application form.

The usual request to provide information is not enough to stop the course of six months.

Exclusively for You to report that more than 90 % of applications which are considered by the Court as inadmissible in connection with the compliance by applicants of one or more of the above requirements.

The Court's official languages English and French, but on request You can contact the registry of the Court the official language of one of the States (Ukrainian or Russian), which ratified the Convention. At the initial stage of implementation of the Court may also correspond with this language. However, You should know that the next stages of implementation, that is, if the Court does not recognize Your application inadmissible on the basis of the documents You sent, and decides to invite the Government to send written comments on Your complaints, the Court will correspond with You in either English or French and You or Your representative, as a General rule, will have to send further comments in either English or French.

The court accepts only statements sent by mail (not by phone). If You are sending Your application by email or Fax, You definitely need to duplicate it by regular mail. Also there is no need to be present in Strasbourg for an oral presentation of the circumstances of Your case.

All correspondence regarding the complaint should be sent to:

The Registrar

European Court of Human Rights

Council of Europe

F - 67075 STRASBOURG CEDEX

FRANCE - FRANCE.

Do not overwrite stapled, not glued together and do not bind in any other way leaves and documents which You send to the Court. All pages should be numbered sequentially.

Upon receipt of Your first sheet or application form the registry will send You a response stating that Your name was an open case number should be noted in all of the following sheets to the Court. In the future, You can ask for additional information, documents or explanations related to the statement. But the Secretariat cannot provide You with information on the legislation of the state against which a directional statement, or give legal advice regarding the application or interpretation of national law.

In Your best interest to timely and diligently respond to emails from the Secretariat. Any delay in response or the lack of it can be regarded as that You are not interested in promoting in Your case. Therefore, if You do not answer sheet of the Secretariat throughout the year since his departure, Your case will be destroyed.

If You think that Your statement regarding one of the rights guaranteed by the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and that all conditions listed above are satisfied, You must carefully and legibly fill in the application form and send it to the Court within six weeks.

According to the Regulations of the Court, it is necessary that Your application should contain

the following:

a) a concise statement of the facts which You wish to appeal, and the nature of Your complaints;

b) an indication of the rights guaranteed by the Convention, which was, in your opinion, a violation;

C) information on legal remedies You have used;

d) list the official decisions in Your case, with the date of each decision and authority, which issued it, as well as short information about the content of this decision. To sheet add copies of the solutions. (Documents will not be returned to you and therefore in Your best interest to send a copy, not originals).

Rule 45 of the rules of Court requires that the statement be signed by You as the applicant or Your representative.

If You do not wish the publication of Your face, You need to make a statement and to give reasons for such deviation from the General rule of free access to information in the trial. The court may allow anonymity only in exceptional and justified cases.

At the initial stage of submission of the application You are not required to have a representative, and Your representative (if You have) does not have to be a lawyer. However, if the Court decides to invite the Government to send written comments on Your application, You need, as a General rule, to have a representative (except for special exceptions), who is an attorney authorized to practice in one of the States that ratified the Convention (including Ukraine).

Your representative (lawyer) must possess one of the official languages of the Court (English or French).

It should be noted that since that time, the Court will correspond with You one of the official languages, and You will have to send its observations in this language, unless You get permission to continue the communication informal language. If You wish to apply to the Court through counsel or other representative, You must attach to the application form a power of attorney which would authorize him to act on Your behalf.

The representative of the legal persons (companies, associations, and so forth) or group of individuals must prove their legal authority to represent the applicant. Note that to submit complaints to the European court and the legal entity.