According to Article 47 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, its protection may extend to legal persons on an equal footing with individuals.

It is clear that the procedure for protecting the rights of such applicants differs considerably, but it is undeniable that non-governmental organizations have the opportunity to apply to the European Court of Human Rights.

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The range of legal entities that can be applicants to the ECtHR:

At the stage of deciding the admissibility of the application, the European Court each time analyzes whether a particular legal entity meets the established criteria:
- the person is a non-governmental organization;

- the person does not perform the functions of state power;

- a person has no right to act on behalf of and in the interests of the state.

This includes any private companies, societies, firms, enterprises, unions, organizations, associations, foundations and more.

List of rights of legal entities protected by the Convention:

Most of the rights provided by the Convention concern the protection of individuals. Thus, a legal entity by its nature cannot have the right to life, privacy and personal integrity.
Instead, NGOs can exercise the following rights:

- property rights under Art. 1 of Protocol I to the Convention;

- the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion under Art. 9 of the Convention;
- the right to freedom of expression under Art. 10 of the Convention

- the right to freedom of assembly and association under Art. 11 of the Convention
- prohibition of discrimination under Art. 14 of the Convention.

In addition, legal persons enjoy all procedural rights provided, in particular, in Articles 6, 7, 13 and 18 of the European Convention.

Application procedure:

According to Art. 34 of the European Convention, a legal entity has the right to apply to the ECtHR in the form of an individual application on the official application form to the ECtHR.

Importantly! The Convention sets out the admissibility criteria that apply to all applications to the Court.

1. Confirmation of the exhaustion of national remedies

2. Compliance with the deadline of 6 months after the final decision at the national level.

3. Correctness of the content of the statement:

• the application concerns only those rights guaranteed by the ECHR,

• the rights were violated directly in respect of the applicant himself,

• the declaration must be directed against the State which has ratified the Convention and the relevant protocols.

It should be noted that in order for a legal entity's application to be considered admissible, it is necessary to attach documents confirming that the natural person who submitted the application has the right or authority to represent the applicant's interests.

Do you have questions regarding the procedure for applying to the European Court of Human Rights? Contact the staff of the Podolsk Legal Center by phone or in the CHAT below !