1. Applying for a retrial does not interrupt the four-month application period.
2. Using extraordinary legal remedies does not interrupt the four-month application period.
3. The fact that a domestic legal remedy has been used, the application of which is at the discretion of public officials and is consequently not directly accessible by the applicant, is not taken into account in the calculation of the four-month application period.
4. The four-month time limit rule stipulated for applications to the ECtHR is a public policy rule, and even if it has not been invoked by the government, the ECtHR takes this rule into account ex officio.
5. It is incumbent upon the State, which asserts that the four-month time limit rule has not been complied with, to prove on what date the applicant learned of the final domestic decision.
6. If domestic law stipulates notification of the final decision, the applicant’s four-month application period begins on the date of notification of the final decision, regardless of whether this decision was previously communicated verbally or learned informally.
7. The four-month application period begins with the notification of the final decision to the lawyer. The situation does not change even if the applicant learned of the final decision later.
8. Where a decision has not been served, the applicant cannot remain inactive indefinitely. The applicant is under an individual obligation to take the necessary steps and to inquire with the competent authorities about the outcome of the proceedings in question, and must exercise due diligence. The excuse that the decision has not been served cannot be invoked indefinitely.
9. Applications sent by fax do not stop the running of the four-month time-limit. The applicant must also send the signed original of the application to the ECHR by post within the same time-limit.
10. The four-month period starts the day after the date on which the final decision was served or the applicant or their representative became aware of the said decision and ends 4 calendar months later, irrespective of the actual duration of calendar months. For example, for a decision served on April 17, the period starts on April 18 and ends at midnight on August 17.
12. The date of application is the date on which the complete application form was sent to the Court. In other words, it is the date the applicant posted the application form to the ECHR, as indicated by the date on the postmark.
13. Only a complete application form (i.e., an application form containing all requested information in the relevant sections and the submission of attached supporting documents) suspends the running of the four-month time limit.
14. In cases where there is no effective domestic remedy available to the applicant, the four-month period begins on the date when the impugned act or measure occurred, or on the date when the applicant became aware of such an act or measure, or its adverse consequences, or the damage resulting therefrom.
Keywords:
What is the ECHR four-month period, European Court of Human Rights application period, How many days is the ECHR application period, How is the ECHR time limit calculated, When does an ECHR application begin, When should the ECHR application form be mailed, Is an application to the ECHR by fax valid, Consequences of late application to the ECHR, Example of ECHR application period calculation, Reasons for ECHR application rejection, European Court of Human Rights four-month rule, Conditions for individual application to the ECHR, Date of notification in ECHR application, Is there a right to indefinite waiting at the ECHR, Does the ECHR application period stop, Human Rights Court application period
