Application to the European Court of Human Rights in Inheritance Cases
In inheritance disputes, filing an application with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) after receiving an unfavorable outcome in the Ukrainian courts may be the final opportunity to obtain fair judicial protection of your inheritance rights.
When Can You Apply to the European Court of Human Rights?
1. After exhausting all domestic remedies.
In practice, this means that you must first bring your case before the court of first instance, pursue an appeal, and finally file a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court. If you remain dissatisfied with the final judgment—for example, if the court refused to recognize your ownership of inherited property under a will or by law, refused to invalidate a will, denied an additional period for accepting an inheritance, or dismissed another type of inheritance claim—you may have the right to submit an application to the European Court of Human Rights.
2. Observe the application deadline.
An application to the ECHR must generally be submitted within four months from the date of the final domestic decision. In most cases, this will be the judgment of the Supreme Court. However, there are situations where the judgment is delivered earlier but communicated to the applicant at a later date. In such circumstances, you should be prepared to demonstrate to the ECHR why your application was submitted within the applicable time limit.
3. Availability of the complete case file.
Inheritance disputes are often extensive and legally complex. Therefore, preparing an application to the ECHR requires access to the complete case file. Based on our practical experience, incomplete or missing case materials may significantly hinder the examination of the application during the communication stage.
If you do not have copies of the entire case file, we can review the court file on your behalf to ensure that the application submitted to the ECHR is complete and properly supported.
How Much Does an ECHR Application Cost?
When determining our legal fees, we assess the complexity and volume of the case and always ask whether the client has copies of the court file. These factors directly affect the amount of time our lawyers will need to prepare a properly substantiated application to the ECHR.
We always ask our clients to send us the court decisions for a preliminary legal assessment in order to determine whether an application to the ECHR has reasonable prospects of success. Only after completing this assessment do we determine the cost of our legal services.
What Is the Admissibility of an Application?
Once our lawyer has prepared the application—which is always reviewed and approved by the client—it is submitted to the European Court of Human Rights together with all supporting evidence.
After receiving the application, the Court assigns it an application number and notifies either the applicant or the applicant's lawyer that the application has been registered. We communicate with the Court electronically and therefore receive confirmation of registration by email.
When preparing applications, we follow all current guidance issued by the European Court of Human Rights. In particular, we rely on the Court's Practical Guide on Admissibility, available at https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/d/echr/Admissibility_guide_UKR.
During the initial examination of an application, the Court decides whether it will declare the application admissible or reject it. This is the most important stage of the proceedings. We strongly recommend entrusting the preparation of an ECHR application to an experienced lawyer. The lawyers of the Inheritance Center have practical experience in preparing ECHR applications and provide these services at the highest professional level.
What Happens After an Application Is Declared Admissible?
The next stage is the examination of your application by the Court. During these proceedings, our lawyers will continue to assist you by communicating with the Court, submitting additional observations and documents when required, and ensuring that your case is presented as effectively as possible.