Rules of Court
Rule 471 – Contents of an individual application
1. An application under Article 34 of the Convention shall be made on the application form provided by the Registry, unless the Court decides otherwise. It shall contain all of the information requested in the relevant parts of the application form and set out
(a) the name, date of birth, nationality and address of the applicant and, where the applicant is a legal person, the full name, date of incorporation or registration, the official registration number (if any) and the official address;
(b) the name, address, telephone and fax numbers and e-mail address of the representative, if any;
(c) where the applicant is represented, the dated and original signature of the applicant on the authority section of the application form; the original signature of the representative showing that he or she has agreed to act for the applicant must also be on the authority section of the application form; the Court may accept copies of the signatures or other authority forms valid in the domestic law of the Contracting Parties, if compelling reasons for the failure to comply with these requirements are provided and the Court’s authority form with original signatures is communicated to the Court within a reasonable time;
(d) the name of the Contracting Party or Parties against which the application is made;
(e) a concise and legible statement of the facts;
(f) a concise and legible statement of the alleged violation(s) of the Convention and the relevant arguments; and
(g) a concise and legible statement confirming the applicant’s compliance with the admissibility criteria laid down in Article 35 § 1 of the Convention.
2.
(a) All of the information referred to in paragraph 1 (e) to (g) above that is set out in the relevant part of the application form should be sufficient to enable the Court to determine the nature and scope of the application without recourse to any other document.
(b) The applicant may however supplement the information by appending to the application form further details on the facts, alleged violations of the Convention and the relevant arguments. Such information shall not exceed 20 pages.
3.1. The application form shall be signed by the applicant or the applicant’s representative and shall be accompanied by
(a) copies of documents relating to the decisions or measures complained of, judicial or otherwise;
(b) copies of documents and decisions showing that the applicant has complied with the exhaustion of domestic remedies requirement and the time-limit contained in Article 35 § 1 of the Convention;
(c) where appropriate, copies of documents relating to any other procedure of international investigation or settlement;
(d) where the applicant is a legal person as referred to in Rule 47 § 1 (a), a document or documents showing that the individual who lodged the application has the standing or authority to represent the applicant.
3.2. Documents submitted in support of the application shall be listed in order by date, numbered consecutively and be identified clearly.
4. Applicants who do not wish their identity to be disclosed to the public shall so indicate and shall submit a statement of the reasons justifying such a departure from the normal rule of public access to information in proceedings before the Court. The Court may authorise anonymity or grant it of its own motion.
5.1. Failure to comply with the requirements set out in paragraphs 1 to 3 of this Rule will result in the application not being examined by the Court, unless
(a) the applicant has provided an adequate explanation for the failure to comply;
(b) the application concerns a request for an interim measure;
(c) the Court otherwise directs of its own motion or at the request of an applicant.
5.2. The Court may in any case request an applicant to provide information or documents in any form or manner which may be appropriate within a fixed time-limit.
6.
(a) The date of introduction of the application for the purposes of Article 35 § 1 of the Convention shall be the date on which an application form satisfying the requirements of this Rule is sent to the Court. The date of dispatch shall be the date of the postmark.
(b) Where it finds it justified, the Court may nevertheless decide that a different date shall be considered to be the date of introduction.
7. Applicants shall keep the Court informed of any change of address and of all circumstances relevant to the application.
__________1 As amended by the Court on 17 June and 8 July 2002, 11 December 2007, 22 September 2008, 6 May 2013, and 1 June and 5 October 2015 and 18 January 2024.