The European Court of Human Rights Extends the Suspension of Time Limits until 15 June 2020

On 16 March 2020 the European Court of Human Rights announced that it was taking extraordinary measures in response to the unprecedented global health crisis. A message was published on the Registry of the Court.

Taking into consideration the decisions of the French authorities and of the Council of Europe, the Court limited the access to its building, introduced remote working and continued consideration of priority cases. The European Court of Human Rights continues to issue decisions.

The Registry of the Court announced a month-long suspension, staring from 16 March 2020, of the provision of Art. 35 of the Convention regarding the 6-month term to file applications. For the same period all procedural time limits, which had begun to run as of 16 March 2020, were also suspended.

On 15 April 2020 the Registry of the Court announced that the suspension of time limits (i.e. of the 6-month term to file applications and of procedural time limits, which had begun to run as of 16 March 2020) is extended until 15 June 2020.

This extension does not apply to the 3-month time limit under Art. 43 of the Convention concerning the opportunity to request, in exceptional cases, the case to be referred to the Grand Chamber. These are the cases which raise a serious question affecting the interpretation or application of the Convention or the Protocols thereto or a serious issue of general importance.

The court will continue to function and, depending on the situation, will take new actions and decisions. We at Dobrev & Lyutskanov Law Firm will monitor the situation and inform you in a timely manner.