Bringing a case to the European Court of Human Rights - Council of Europe

As of November 1, 2014, about 78,000 applications were pending before a judicial formation of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Although the ECtHR's docket has been reduced by nearly 50% over the last three years, this still represents a very significant number of cases to be brought before an international tribunal which continues to threaten the effectiveness of the right of petition enshrined in the Convention. The vast majority of cases (92% in 2013) will be rejected on grounds of inadmissibility. Such cases clog up the docket and obstruct the examination of more deserving cases where the admissibility requirements have been satisfied. The 2010 Interlaken Conference on the reform of the ECtHR called upon the "States Parties and the Court to ensure that comprehensive and objective information is provided to potential applicants on the Convention and the Court's case-law, in particular on the application procedures and admissibility criteria." The ECtHR's first response to the call was to prepare a guide which clearly sets out the rules and case law concerning admissibility. This third edition covers case law up to January 1, 2014, and the stricter procedural conditions for applying to the ECtHR which came into force on that date. [Subject: International Law, European Law, Human Rights Law]