Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is one of the few international courts an individual can petition directly. It rules on alleged breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights by the 46 member states of the Council of Europe, and for many people it is the last forum with the power to hold a state to account after the domestic courts have closed. We bring cases to the Court, and we make urgent Rule 39 applications to stop an extradition, deportation or removal where a person faces a real risk of death, torture or ill-treatment.

Time is short. An application to the Court has to be lodged within four months of the final domestic decision, and a Rule 39 application often has to be prepared and filed within hours. If you are facing removal to a country where you will be at risk, take advice early, before the options narrow.

What is the European Court of Human Rights?

The Court in Strasbourg was set up under the European Convention on Human Rights, drafted in 1950, to rule on complaints that a state has breached the rights the Convention protects. All 46 member states of the Council of Europe are bound by it.

The Court is not an institution of the European Union, and it is not a further court of appeal that re-hears your case. It decides one question: whether a state has violated the Convention. The rights it examines most often are the right to life (Article 2), the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment (Article 3), the right to liberty (Article 5), the right to a fair trial (Article 6) and the right to respect for private and family life (Article 8).

Who can bring a case to the European Court of Human Rights?

Any individual, group or non-governmental organisation that claims to be the victim of a violation by a state bound by the Convention can apply. You do not need to be a citizen of the state you are complaining about. You do need to have been directly affected.

Before you can apply, you have to exhaust domestic remedies. That means taking your complaint as far as it can go through the national courts first, up to and including the highest court available to you. The Court will look closely at whether you did so, and applications are often rejected for this reason alone. The Convention arguments have to be made at each stage of the domestic process for the case to stand up in Strasbourg.

What is a Rule 39 injunction (interim measure)?

A Rule 39 measure is an urgent, temporary order the Court can make under Rule 39 of its Rules of Court. It asks a state to hold off, to suspend a removal or take a protective step, until the Court has had time to examine the case. It exists to stop harm that could not be undone once it has happened.

In practice, the great majority of Rule 39 measures are made to halt an extradition, deportation or removal to a country where the person faces a real risk of death, torture or ill-treatment, contrary to Articles 2 and 3. Since the Grand Chamber’s decision in Mamatkulov v Turkey, a Rule 39 measure has been binding on the state it is directed to. A state that removes a person in breach of one is itself in breach of the Convention.

When will the Court grant a Rule 39 measure?

The test is strict. The Court grants interim measures only where there is a real and imminent risk of serious, irreversible harm, and where the evidence in front of it makes that risk out. They are not routine and are not granted to buy time. A strong Rule 39 application is short, focused and built on specific, documented risk, put to the Court in the form it needs and filed before the removal takes place. These applications turn on preparation, and they are frequently made overnight.

How long do I have to apply to the Court?

You have four months from the final domestic decision to lodge a full application. This was reduced from six months by Protocol No. 15 to the Convention. A Rule 39 application runs on a far shorter clock again, because it has to reach the Court before the removal happens. Both deadlines are hard. Missing them usually ends the case, so the time to take advice is when removal is first threatened, not when it is imminent.

What can the Court do if it finds a violation?

The Court’s judgments are binding on the state concerned. Where it finds a violation it can award just satisfaction under Article 41, meaning compensation, and its rulings can require a state to change a law or practice. It cannot itself quash a decision of a national court, but a state that loses is obliged to put the violation right, and enforcement of judgments is supervised by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

Our experience before the Court

We act for individuals in Strasbourg proceedings and make urgent Rule 39 applications to stop removals, and this work runs alongside our extradition, INTERPOL y sanciones practice, where the same clients are often fighting on several fronts at once.

Rule 39 measures are difficult to obtain, and we have secured them in several cases involving serious issues. Our experience includes Sanchez-Sanchez v United Kingdom, concerning extradition from the United Kingdom to the United States and the issue of life sentences without parole. The case ultimately proceeded to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights.

If you are at risk of removal, or you have exhausted your domestic appeals and want to know whether Strasbourg is open to you, Contáctanos early. The sooner we see the papers, the more we can do.

Preguntas frecuentes

Is a Rule 39 measure binding on the state?

Yes. Since the Grand Chamber’s ruling in Mamatkulov v Turkey, a Rule 39 interim measure is binding on the state it is directed to. A state that ignores one and removes the person is in breach of the Convention.

Can the European Court of Human Rights stop an extradition or deportation?

Yes, through a Rule 39 interim measure. Where there is a real and imminent risk of death, torture or ill-treatment on return, the Court can order the state to suspend the removal until it has examined the case.

What is the deadline to apply to the European Court of Human Rights?

Four months from the date of the final domestic decision, reduced from six months by Protocol No. 15. A Rule 39 application must be made even sooner, before the removal is carried out.

Do I have to go through the national courts first?

Yes. You must exhaust domestic remedies, taking your case as far as it can go through the national courts, before the Court will consider your application. Failing to do so is one of the most common reasons applications are rejected.

Which countries are bound by the European Convention on Human Rights?

The 46 member states of the Council of Europe. The Court is separate from the European Union, so its reach is not the same as EU membership.

Do I need a lawyer to make a Rule 39 application?

You can apply without one, but these applications are decided on tightly prepared evidence under severe time pressure, and a weak or late application can be refused and hard to retrieve. Early advice from lawyers who run these applications makes a real difference.