The HELP online course on Admissibility criteria in applications submitted to the European Court of Human Rights was launched in Tirana on 13 October for a group of 36 lawyers from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.

Participants were welcomed by Olsi Dekovi, Deputy Head of Office of the Council of Europe Office in Tirana, and Rezarta Abdiu, Albanian Chamber of Advocates, who also presented the Balkans Rule of Law Network (BRRLN).

An interesting presentation on the application of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) at the national level as well as the due diligence test in the framework of the 6 months rule, the abuse of the rights of application with a particular focus on the abusive conduct of applicants or their representative was delivered by Nona Tsotsoria, former Judge at the European Court of Human Rights elected in respect of Georgia.

The HELP national tutors, Erinda Meli and Milica Novaković, former lawyers at the European Court of Human Rights, presented the admissibility criteria set forth in Article 34 - Individual Application and Article 35 - Admissibility criteria of the European Convention on Human Rights. All grounds for inadmissibility are covered by the HELP online course which will be implemented for the selected group of lawyers over a two-month period.

Given that the European Court of Human Rights rejects around 90% of all applications as inadmissible, the HELP online course will enable lawyers to understand the criteria governing the admissibility of applications lodged before the European Court of Human Rights and the procedure before it in determining the admissibility of an application.

The course is implemented under the “HELP in the Western Balkans” project, funded by the Human Rights Trust Fund.

  Council of Europe HELP course on Admissibility Criteria

*All references to Kosovo, whether the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nation's Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.