Due to the Coronavirus, the European Court takes exceptional measures to hear cases

The European Court of Human Rights is switching to a special work mode to prevent a possible spread of the Coronavirus. For that purpose, the European Court has taken numerous measures. According to the court’s press release:

-In principle, the Court’s essential activities and especially the handling of priority cases will be maintained. For this purpose, the court has shifted to remote work to ensure the continuity of its tasks;

- Under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, the court has adopted procedures regarding the examination of urgent requests for interim measure;

-The premises of the court are no longer accessible to the public. The hearings scheduled for March and April are cancelled pending further decisions;

- The six-month time-limit for the lodging of applications, provided for by Article 35 of the European Convention on Human Rights, is suspended for a period of one-month as an exception. The mentioned one-month period starts from Monday, March 16, 2020;

-All current time-limits allotted for the parties in proceedings will be suspended for one month running from Monday, March 16, 2020;

According to the court, these measures will be subject to constant review in accordance with the development of the events.