Are you looking for lawyers to file applications to the European Court of Human Rights?
Gianluca Piemonte is a lawyer admitted to plead before the European Court of Human Rights and before the Italian Court of Cassation. He is a lawyer experienced in applications to the European Court, defending citizens from across Europe. Under Rule 36 § 4 (a) of the Rules of Court he can represent applicants against any Council of Europe State, not only against Italy.
Applications filed against States across the Council of Europe, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Malta, Cyprus, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries, Türkiye, Germany and Romania.
To contact Attorney Gianluca Piemonte, you can initially send an email to supporto@studiopiemonte.com or submit a FREE CONTACT FORM, where you can describe your case and request a free quote for an application to the European Court of Human Rights.
You can contact him in any language, and you will receive a response in the same language.
However, you should be aware that it is not always possible to submit an application to the European Court, and on this page, you will discover the prerequisites for doing so.
Assessment of your case and of the grounds to apply. Send me the final domestic decision.
What an ECHR Lawyer Does at Each Stage of the Case
- Before filing – admissibility screening: exhaustion of domestic remedies, time limit, victim status, significant disadvantage.
- Application form – drafting the application under Rule 47: facts, complaints, admissibility section, annexes. See the ECHR application form and how to fill it in.
- Rule 39 – interim measures where there is a real risk of irreversible harm, decided within days.
- Communication – written observations once the Court has put its questions to the Government.
- Friendly settlement and unilateral declaration – whether to accept what the Government offers.
- Article 41 – just satisfaction: pecuniary damage, non-pecuniary damage, costs, with the evidence each head requires.
The Lawyer, Article by Article of the Convention
Article 8 on private life, family ties, correspondence, personal data and gender identity; Article 3 on ill-treatment, detention conditions, medical care and removal to a country of risk; Article 5 on liberty, unlawful detention and compensation; Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 on property, expropriation and planning restrictions” class=”wp-image-9160″/>- Article 6 – fair trial: length of proceedings, reasoning, access to a court, equality of arms.
- Article 8 – private and family life: family ties, correspondence, personal data, gender identity, home.
- Article 3 – ill-treatment: detention conditions, medical care in prison, removal to a country of risk.
- Article 5 – liberty: unlawful detention, review of detention, compensation.
- Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 – property: expropriation, planning restrictions, delayed compensation.
The text of each article is available in the full text of the European Convention on Human Rights.
When Can You Contact a Lawyer for Applications to the European Court?
To submit an application to the European Court of Human Rights, the following three prerequisites must be met:
1 – Exhaustion of Domestic Remedies
This means that before turning to the European Court, you must have appealed to the internal courts in your country. Only after obtaining a final judgment or decision that is no longer appealable in your country can you submit an application to the European Court.
For example, in civil, criminal, or tax matters, you must first exhaust every level of jurisdiction available in your country, up to the highest court that was open to you. You can therefore apply to the European Court only against the decision of that last court, not against a first or second instance judgment, because you must first exhaust all domestic remedies, up to the last court available in your legal system.
The European Court of Human Rights has a subsidiary function compared to domestic courts, meaning that the ECHR can only examine applications after the applicant has exhausted all domestic remedies.
Exhausting domestic remedies also means having raised the Convention complaint, at least in substance, before the national courts, wherever this was possible. If you cannot tell whether this was done, the Piemonte Law Firm is available to assess your case. An argument never put to your domestic judge is normally rejected in Strasbourg, even when the national proceedings are over.
Want to learn more? Read the article by Attorney Gianluca Piemonte on the Complete Guide to ECHR Applications: How to Proceed?
2 – Respecting the 4-Month Deadline for an Application to the European Court
The deadline for submitting an application to the European Court of Human Rights is 4 months from the date of the final domestic decision.
The four-month time limit is set by Article 35 § 1 of the Convention as amended by Protocol No. 15. It replaced the previous six-month rule and applies where the final domestic decision was given on or after 1 February 2022.
In practice, this 4-month deadline for an ECHR application starts from the date on which:
- Your lawyer was notified of the judgment by the court registry or the judgment was served by the opposing party
- The judgment was deposited (if it was neither communicated nor served)
Contact a lawyer experienced in ECHR applications as soon as possible to avoid the risk of submitting a late application.
The time limit is interrupted by a complete application form under Rule 47, not by a letter announcing that one will be sent. An incomplete form does not stop the clock.
3 – Support from a Lawyer for Applications to the European Court
97% of applications to the European Court of Human Rights are declared inadmissible.
It’s important to know that the Court receives tens of thousands of applications every year from all States Parties and does not have the resources to examine each one on the merits.
The vast majority of applications to the European Court are declared inadmissible because they are not submitted in accordance with the Court’s Rules or because the violations of the ECHR are not properly argued.
An attorney experienced in applications to the European Court is essential for challenging a final decision in your country. You won’t have another chance to “reopen the case” unless you appeal to the European Court with the help of an experienced lawyer.
Why Applications Are Rejected, and What Changes with an Experienced Lawyer
Applications fail for four frequent reasons: the complaint was never raised before the domestic courts, the application form was incomplete, the case was written as a further review of the facts (a fourth instance), or the violation was invoked without the case-law of the Court. These are the mistakes made most often:
- Formal Defects in the Application. An incomplete form under Rule 47, an irregular authority form, missing annexes or a late filing lead to rejection without anyone reading the merits.
- Treating the Application to the European Court as Another Appeal to the Court of Cassation. This is a major cause of inadmissibility, as the European Court is not a so-called “fourth instance” court. The reasons for appealing to the European Court are significantly different from those previously raised in Italian courts.
- Failure to Argue the Violation of the ECHR Using International Law Content. This is the primary reason for inadmissibility or rejection because the application will be deemed manifestly unfounded. Many believe it is sufficient to simply cite the violation of Article 6 ECHR or Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, but this alone is not enough to win an application before the European Court.
- Failure to Cite Precedents for Similar Cases. This is the main reason for rejection due to the application being unfounded. The European Court relies on a system similar to Common Law, where precedents play a crucial and decisive role. A lawyer experienced in European Court applications will be able to cite relevant and appropriate previous judgments to strengthen the application and increase its chances of being accepted (this is possible through research on ECHR case law from other European states).
Five Checks Before You Instruct a Lawyer
- Bar registration. Ask for the Bar and the registration number, and check it. Rule 36 § 4 (a) of the Rules of Court requires an advocate authorised to practise in a Contracting State and resident there.
- A named lawyer, not a faceless firm. Ask who signs the application and who answers the Court.
- Cases you can verify. Ask for application numbers you can look up on HUDOC yourself.
- A written engagement with the fee agreed before any payment.
- A straight answer on admissibility. A lawyer who tells you that every case has a chance is telling you what you want to hear.
Applications Against Any Council of Europe State
Before you can apply to Strasbourg, the last domestic remedy has to be exhausted. Which one that is depends on your country:
- United Kingdom – the Court of Appeal and then the Supreme Court; the Convention complaint must have been raised domestically under the Human Rights Act 1998.
- Türkiye – the individual application to the Constitutional Court, which the Court treats as a remedy to be exhausted.
- Germany – the constitutional complaint to the Federal Constitutional Court.
- The Netherlands – cassation before the Hoge Raad, or the Council of State in administrative matters.
- Sweden – the Supreme Court or the Supreme Administrative Court.
- Ireland – the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
- Romania – the High Court of Cassation and Justice, and a constitutional plea where the complaint concerns the law itself.
- Greece – the Court of Cassation or the Council of State.
- Cyprus – the Supreme Court.
- Italy – the Court of Cassation, and the Pinto remedy where the complaint is about the length of the proceedings.
The respondent State does not have to be the one where your lawyer practises. What matters is that the lawyer is authorised to practise in a Contracting State and resident there.
If Your Application Has Already Been Rejected
A single-judge decision is final and cannot be appealed. A fresh application on the same facts will be rejected. What remains possible is a new application on facts that arose later, a new complaint under a different article for which the time limit has not yet expired, or revision under Rule 80 of the Rules of Court in the narrow cases it covers. Anyone promising to reopen a single-judge decision is selling you something that does not exist.
CONCLUSIONS: Lawyer for ECHR Applications
If you have suffered an injustice from a European court and the judgment is final in your country, you can submit an application to the European Court of Human Rights.
The European Court is located in Strasbourg, France. Before the case is communicated to the Government, the application may be written in an official language of any of the Contracting States. After communication, the proceedings continue in English or French.
The entire process at the European Court is written (application, defense submissions, and judgment), so there is no need to be physically present in France.
97% of applications are rejected by the European Court. Therefore, the assistance of a lawyer experienced in ECHR cases is crucial.
Attorney Gianluca Piemonte has already defended numerous citizens from various European countries before the European Court and has filed applications against almost every European state (most frequently against the United Kingdom, Ireland, Malta, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and Norway).
To receive legal support at the European Court, you simply need to send the power of attorney by mail to your lawyer. Contact the Piemonte Law Firm, and you can:
- First, assess whether there are grounds to submit an application to the European Court (the Piemonte Law Firm only challenges judgments where it believes there are sufficient grounds to do so and a reasonable chance of success).
- If the grounds are present, you can choose to entrust your case to a lawyer experienced in applications to the European Court, who defends citizens from across Europe. The legal support will include drafting the ECHR application specific to your case, submitting the facts for consideration by the European Court, legally substantiating the violations of the ECHR, and citing other European judgments for cases similar to yours. The application will be drafted with particular international legal expertise by a lawyer experienced in proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights.
Request a free quote by emailing supporto@studiopiemonte.com or using the contact form on our CONTACT US page.
The Piemonte Law Firm has already helped many people across Europe to protect their rights and will be happy to assist you as well.
You can contact him in any language, and you will receive a response in the same language.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a lawyer to apply to the European Court of Human Rights?
No. You can send the application form yourself. Most applications, however, are rejected on admissibility rather than on the merits, and a single-judge decision is final.
At what point does legal representation become mandatory?
From the moment the Court communicates the application to the respondent Government. From that stage the applicant must be represented under Rule 36 § 2 of the Rules of Court, unless the President of the Chamber decides otherwise.
Can a lawyer from another country represent me?
Yes. Rule 36 § 4 (a) requires an advocate authorised to practise in one of the Contracting States and resident in the territory of one of them. The lawyer does not have to be admitted in the respondent State.
How much does an ECHR lawyer cost?
Around EUR 250 for the assessment of the grounds to apply, and from EUR 1,000 for representation in the proceedings, to be assessed case by case.
What is the deadline to apply?
Four months from the final domestic decision, under Article 35 § 1 of the Convention as amended by Protocol No. 15, where that decision was given on or after 1 February 2022.
Which language can I write my application in?
Before the case is communicated to the Government, the application may be written in an official language of any Contracting State. After communication the proceedings continue in English or French.
