External Resources
Here you can find links to relevant videos and documents of the European Court of Human Rights
Presentation of the European Court of Human Rights
Here you can watch a video containing a general presentation of the European Court of Human Rights.
ECtHR Guides by theme and by article
- Guide on Article 1 - Obligation to respect human rights
- Guide on Article 2 - Right to life
- Guide on Article 4 - Prohibition of slavery and forced labour
- Guide on Article 5 - Right to liberty and security
- Guide on Article 6 - Right to a fair trial (both civil and criminal limb)
- Guide on Article 7 - No punishment without law
- Guide on Article 8 - Right to respect for private and family life
- Guide on Article 9 - Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
- Guide on Article 10 - Freedom of expression (French Only)
- Guide on Article 11 - Freedom of assembly and association
- Guide on Article 13 - Right to an effective remedy
- Guide on Article 14 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 - Prohibition of discrimination
- Guide on Article 15 - Derogation in time of emergency
- Guide on Article 17 - Prohibition of abuse of rights
- Guide on Article 18 - Limitation on use of restrictions on rights
- Guide on Article 46 - Binding force and execution of judgments
- Guide on Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 - Protection of property
- Guide on Article 2 of Protocol No.1 - Right to Education
- Guide on Article 3 of Protocol No.1 - Right to free elections
- Guide on Article 4 of Protocol No.4 - Prohibition of collective expulsions of aliens
- Guide on Article 4 of Protocol No.7 - Right not to be tried or punished twice
European Convention on Human Rights
Here you can download the full text of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Convention contains the provisions that states members of the Council of Europe have signed and ratified, and binds the member states to protect, respect and fulfil the human rights mentioned in it.
ECHR and Protocols to the Convention
Here you can find a list with all the additional protocols to the ECHR and links to their respective text.
Application forms in other languages
You can apply to the European Court of Human Rights in any language of the countries who have signed and ratified the European Convention on Human Rights. Here you can choose the language you are most comfortable with.
Rules of the Court
The European Court of Human Rights functions according to a number of rules. In this document you can find all the rules of the Court as of 1st of January 2020.
Rule 47
This rule of the European Court of Human Rights contains the requirements as to what an application must contain. In our digital form we try to guide you into filling in all the required fields, and this is the primary source of information.
Notes for filling in the application form
Here you can find additional guidance for how to fill in an application to the European Court of Human Rights. We are trying to make our explanations as comprehensive and clear as possible, but if you feel at a loss, the ECtHR notes for filling in the application form might prove useful.
Common mistakes
Here you can find a list with the most common mistakes made by applications to the European Court of Human Rights.
Practical Guide on Admissibility Criteria
The large majority of applications sent to the ECtHR are not declared admissible and do not receive a judgement. In our digital application form we provide the general lines for admissibility, but sometimes even if an application seems not admissible, there are exceptions. If you have doubts regarding the admissibility of your application, you can always check this document from the Court.
ECHR - Video on the admissibility conditions
Here you can watch a video in English concerning the admissibility conditions.
Relevant case law for each article of the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols
If you are interested in the newest case law concerning particular articles, you can find it here. Each case brought before the European Court of Human Rights concerns articles of the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols. Each year cases that are considered relevant for particular articles are added to a list of relevant cases. Sometimes these cases bring forth new issues or change to some extent the Court’s understanding of a case or article.
The Human Rights Treaty Body system
The European Convention on Human Rights is not the only human rights convention stipulating the individual rights and freedoms. Here you can find a video about the UN treaty body system which monitors the implementation by States of the core international human rights treaties.