PART 2: How to Bring a Case to the Court with the lapse of time, memories of witnesses faded, witnesses might die or become untraceable, evidence deteriorated or ceased to exist, and the prospects that any effective investigation could be undertaken would increasingly diminish; and the Court’s own examination and judgment might be deprived of meaningfulness and effectiveness. The Court accordingly concluded that where disappearances were concerned, applicants could not wait indefinitely before coming to Strasbourg but had to make proof of a certain amount of diligence and initiative and introduce their complaints without undue delay.475 A complaint must be filed with the Court within six (four) months of the date on which the final domestic decision was taken in the case. The six (four)-month period starts running from: 1) the date the domestic judgment is rendered orally in public;476 2) the date of service of the written decision if the applicant is entitled to such service;477 or 3) the date when the decision was finalized and signed in situations where judgments are not rendered orally or served.478 If no domestic remedies are available, the six (four)-month period starts running from the date of the incident or act of which the applicant complains.479 Where domestic remedies turn out to be ineffective, the period starts running from the moment the applicant became aware, or should have become aware, that remedies were ineffective.480 For continuing situations the six (four)-month period does not start to run until after the situation ends, but a complaint can be filed prior to the end of the situation. This will be explained in more detail in section c below. The date of introduction of an application with the Court is the date of the postal stamp on the envelope.481 As of January 2014 the six (four)-month period is only met if a completed application form is sent. A simple introductory letter will no longer suffice. In addition, the Court no longer accepts applications sent by fax. The six (four)-month period also includes weekends and national holidays; e.g. if the starting date of the six-month period is 1 January, the application must be introduced by 1 July. b) The Date of Introduction Rule 47 (6) of the Rules of Court provides that the date of introduction of an application shall be the date on which a properly completed form is placed in the post (i.e. the postmark date). As of January 2014, a new application form has been introduced and certain new criteria for providing the required information became effective. 475 Berry and Others v. the United Kingdom (dec.), nos. 19064/07, 31588/09 and 38619/09, 16 October 2012, § 65. 476 Loveridge v. the United Kingdom (dec.), no. 39641/98, 23 October 2001. 477 Worm v. Austria, no. 2714/93, 29 August 1997, §§ 32–33. 478 Papachelas v. Greece [GC], no. 31423/96, 25 March 1999, § 30. 479 Vayiç v. Turkey (dec.), no. 18078/02, 28 June 2005. 480 Bulut and Yavuz v. Turkey (dec.), no. 73065/01, 28 May 2002. 481 Arslan v. Turkey (dec.), no. 36747/02, 21 November 2002. 133