Your appeal / Europe
Appeals in Europe
Exhaust your national courts, then four months to reach Strasbourg. A win does not quash your conviction by itself.
National courts come first
Reopening a conviction is a matter of national law, and it differs from country to country. We describe only what we have confirmed.
Germany allows reopening in the convicted person's favour on new facts or evidence, or where the European Court of Human Rights found a violation on which the judgment is based. Norway has an independent commission that decides reopening, with no time limit for applying. It warns that a retrial could produce a harsher sentence.
Going to Strasbourg
You may apply to the European Court of Human Rights only after using all domestic remedies, and within four months of the final decision. Time normally runs from when the highest competent court's decision was given or served on you or your lawyer. The period ends on the last day even if that is a Sunday or a public holiday. Only a complete application stops time, and a fax does not count.
You must show that you raised the substance of your complaint in the national courts first.
What a win does and does not do
The Court is not another appeal. It does not quash convictions. Its findings are essentially declaratory, the Convention does not guarantee reopening, and a violation does not automatically require it. The Court can award money, and it can say that reopening would be the most appropriate redress.
Whether a win helps you at home depends on national law. Germany and Norway have routes for this.
General information only, not legal advice. Do not rely on this page for a deadline in your case.