Exhaustion of domestic remedies as a condition of lodging a complaint before the European Court of Human Rights

Abstract

The subject. The article is devoted to the subject of the exhaustion of domestic remedies
before filing a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights.
The purpose. The purpose of this article is to show and reveal the characteristics of such
important condition of lodging a complaint before the European Court of Human Rights as
the exhaustion of domestic remedies.
The methodology. The following scientific methods have been used to write this article:
analysis, comparing and making conclusions.
Results, scope of application. The right of individual petition is rightly considered to be the
hallmark and the greatest achievement of the European Convention on Human Rights. Individuals
who consider that their human rights have been violated have the possibility of
lodging a complaint before the European Court of Human Rights. However, there are important
admissibility requirements set out in the Convention that must be satisfied before
a case be examined. Applicants are expected to have exhausted their domestic remedies
and have brought their complaints within a period of six months from the date of the final
domestic decision. The obligation to exhaust domestic remedies forms part of customary
international law, recognized as such in the case – law of the International Court of Justice.
The rationale for the exhaustion rule is to give the national authorities, primarily the courts,
the opportunity to prevent or put right the alleged violation of the Convention. The domestic
legal order should provide an effective remedy for violations of Convention rights.
Conclusions. The rule of exhaustion of domestic remedies is an important part of the functioning
of the protection system under the Convention and its basic principle.