Do you know the number of the application you are interested in?
What is this number? One to five digits, followed by a slash and two more digits. For example: 12345/20. You may have seen this number in any letter that the applicant or their representative has received from the ECHR regarding the application. Please note that if such a number is not preceded by the words “Application No.” but by something like “ref.” (different terms may be used depending on the language), it is not an application number but only a reference number. The ECHR will open a dossier without registering the application if it receives an application form that does not comply with the requirements. If, after informing the applicant or their representative of the non-compliance, the ECHR receives an application form that is considered to comply with all the requirements, it will register the application, normally giving it the same number as the reference number. Without this, there is simply no registered application. It should also be noted that if the ECHR receives an application form which identifies as the applicant a person whose other application is already pending (or the same group of persons whose collective application is already pending before the ECHR), this can be considered as an addition to the pending application and not as the basis for registering a new application. It is always up to the ECHR to decide whether to register a new application when it receives the second and subsequent application forms from the same persons. Sometimes, the ECHR will refuse to register a new application even if the circumstances and claims covered by all previous application forms are neither identical nor overlapping with the circumstances and claims covered by the new application form. Suppose the ECHR considers a new application form as an addition to the application already pending. In this case, all the applicant’s old and new claims will be considered under the number of the already registered application. Sometimes, the ECHR will not acknowledge receipt of additional information that it considers relevant to the pending application, even if this information is submitted as a new application form.