Change of the deadline for a complaint to Strasbourg

On February 1, 2022, there was a fundamental change in the procedure for submitting a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. In accordance with the Protocol No. 15 to the European Convention on Human Rights, adopted by all States – Members of the Council of Europe, this period has now been shortened from the previous 6 to 4 months. Invariably, this period should be counted from the date of the final judgment in national law. This change, however, does not apply to cases concluded with a final judgment issued before February 1, 2022.

We should remember, however, that currently more and more rules of procedure in many branches of law allow for making final decisions – especially by courts – at closed sessions. Therefore, due to the obligation to serve such a judgment to the party, the deadline for bringing a complaint to the ECtHR runs from the date of service – therefore, in the case of judgments issued before February 1, 2022, even if the judgment is served after this date, the deadline for lodging a complaint is still 6 months.