Time limit for Human Rights Court application to be cut

The time limit for making an application to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is to be cut from six months to four, as a further protocol comes into force.

Protocol 15 has been ratified by Italy, the final state to do so, triggering its coming into force in respect of all Council of Europe member states. It dates from the conference held in Brighton in 2012, when the UK's Cameron Government was seeking ways to limit the reach of the Human Rights Convention. It reduces from six to four months the time limit within which an application may be made to the court following a final domestic decision.

The protocol comes into force from 1 August 2021; however it provides that the time limit provision shall come into force "following the expiration of a period of six months after the date of entry into force of this protocol". It shall also not apply to "applications in respect of which the final decision within the meaning of article 35, paragraph 1 of the Convention was taken prior to the date of entry into force" of this provision.

Among other amendments the protocol also adds a recital to the Preamble to the Convention, affirming that member states have "the primary responsibility" to secure the rights and freedoms defined in the Convention and its protocols, and that "in doing so they enjoy a margin of appreciation, subject to the supervisory jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights".

Robert Spano, President of the court, stated: "The court is well prepared for the entry into force of Protocol No 15. In due course, all the relevant information on the measures that will be put in place to secure the smooth functioning of the work of the court will be posted on its website."

Click here to view the protocol.