PART 2: How to Bring a Case to the Court
7. Applications that are manifestly inadmissible.
8. The Court classifies cases according to this system. If an applicant
wishes his application to be treated with expedition full reasons should
be given. The applicant should also make reference to the Court’s
classification system.
The Court has granted priority in several Article 3 cases. For instance, the Court
often gives priority in extradition cases such as the case of Nizomkhon Dzhurayev v.
Russia in which the applicant faced extradition to Tajikistan where he risked being
subjected to ill-treatment.58
The Court may also grant priority to cases in which the issue at stake needs to be resolved urgently because, for example, the applicant is seriously ill or old. In the case
of Mouisel v. France,59 which concerned the detention of an applicant suffering from
leukaemia allegedly in violation of Article 3 of the Convention, the Court granted
the case priority and it was concluded by a judgment in just over two years.60 Rule
41 has also been applied to conditions of detention. In the case of X v. Turkey the
court expedited the case because the applicant was held in solitary confinement.61
It is important to note that even priority cases can take several years until the Court
makes a decision. In the case of X v. Turkey, for example, the application was lodged
in May 2009, but the Court rendered a decision in October 2012. Hence, the Court
needed 3 years and 3 months to issue a judgment. In contrast, the case of Pretty
v. the United Kingdom,62 where the Court had to decide about assisted suicide of a
terminally ill person, the Court decided within four months only. Thus cases given
priority could be processed very speedily, but there is no guarantee.
2.1.5 Interim Measures (Rule 39)
a) Summary
Since even applications that have been given priority can take several years, an
applicant whose life is at risk or who is under a substantial risk of serious ill-treatment should ask for interim measures to be taken. Interim measures require the
respondent State to immediately refrain from carrying out any act which could be
detrimental to the Court’s examination of an applicant’s case.
Interim measures under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court are predominantly granted
in expulsion and extradition cases in order to prevent the removal of the applicant
58
59
60
61
62
Nizomkhon Dzhurayev v. Russia, no. 31890/11, 3 October 2013, §§ 3–4.
Mouisel v. France, no. 67263/01, 14 November 2002.
Ibid., §§ 3–4.
X v. Turkey, no. 24626/09, 9 October 2012, §§ 1–2.
Pretty v. The United Kingdom, no. 2346/02, 29 April 2002.
43
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