The European Court of Human Rights accepts complaints from the member states of the Council of Europe, which has included Russia since 1998. According to Article 46 of Part 3 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, any citizen of the Russian Federation has the right to apply to the European Court if he believes that the domestic remedies for protecting his rights have been exhausted.
Instructions
Step 1
Check if all the conditions are met in order for your complaint to be admitted to the European Court of Human Rights. You can apply to this instance only after the cassation appeal in the Russian court has been rejected, and after the final consideration of the case, no more than six months should pass, otherwise the complaint will be considered outdated. In addition, the European Court does not consider applications directed against individuals and organizations: the complaint may set out the essence of the case, the responsibility for the decision of which lies with the state.
Step 2
Contact a qualified lawyer who prepares for a fee an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, or draw up such an appeal yourself. It can be written in any form and should contain a brief retelling of the situation that you would like to resolve with the help of the European instance, as well as information about the results of the courts held in your case on the territory of the Russian Federation. Please be aware that filing a complaint is free of duty and does not require a notary registration.
Step 3
Send your preliminary complaints to the European Court of Human Rights by fax: 8 (dial tone) 10 33 388 412 730. It is not recommended to send two or more complaints by different means of communication (eg fax and mail) in order to avoid confusion. To clarify the status of the submitted application, call: 8 (dial tone) 10 33 388 412 018. Operators at the reception of the European Court of Justice mostly speak French and English, so try to ask a question in one of these languages. However, if possible, a caller from Russia can also be connected to a Russian-speaking operator.
Step 4
Wait for a response from the Secretariat of the European Court: you should receive a form with an explanatory note. Fill in all sections of this document, indicating information about yourself, briefly describe the factual aspect of your case, and also describe which clauses of the European Convention your state violated by refusing to resolve your case. For the convenience of the applicant, the text of the European Convention on Human Rights is attached to the form. Send the completed form to the address indicated in the submitted documents and await a response from Stasburg, where the European Court is located.
