Unlocking Justice: Access to Court and Litigation Costs Under the European Convention on Human Rights

Sanja Djajić

doi:10.17561/tahrj.v24.9282

Authors

Sanja Djajić University of Novi Sad Faculty of Law https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5997-9714

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17561/tahrj.v24.9282

Keywords:

Access to court, Litigation costs, Excessive fees, Prohibitive costs, Vulnerability, European Convention on Human Rights

Abstract

Litigation costs constitute a standard human rights issue under the right of access to a court, as enshrined in Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights. This article provides a detailed overview of the factors and considerations that the European Court of Human Rights examines in its proportionality analysis of litigation costs for civil rights claims, particularly those factors that may disrupt the balance between the right of access to a court and legitimate aims. These factors and considerations include excessive formalism in court fees, stamp duties, or security for costs that impose disproportionate financial burdens; unreasonable cost calculations, particularly concerning claim success and non-pecuniary damages; excessive and unjustified litigation costs claimed by state authorities; and the failure to consider a litigant’s vulnerability. These factors serve as benchmarks and red flags, triggering human rights scrutiny in the assessment, allocation, and justification of litigation costs in civil rights cases.

References

ANDREWS, N. (2014). ‘Fundamentals of costs law: loser responsibility, access to justice, and procedural discipline’, Uniform Law Review, 19, 295-307.

BAUMGÄRTEL, M. AND GANTY, S. (2024). ‘On the Basis of Migratory Vulnerability: Augmenting Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights in the Context of Migration’, International Journal of Law in Context, 20(1), pp. 92–112. https://doi.org/10.1017/S174455232300037X

BOUTIER, I. (2024). ‘Understanding Vulnerability through the Eyes of the European Court of Human Rights’ Jurisprudence: Challenges and Responses’, Peace Human Rights Governance, 8(1), pp. 27-52. https://doi.org/10.14658/PUPJ-PHRG-2024-aof-6

CHENWI, L. (2022). Women´s Representation and Rights in the African Court. The Age of Human Rights Journal, 18, 345-375.

ELBERLING, B. (2011). ‘Article 16’, in The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol: A Commentary, ed. Andreas Zimmermann. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

GRABENWARTER, C. (2014). European Convention on Human Rights: commentary. München, Germany: C. H. Beck.

HARRIS, D., O'BOYLE, M., BATES, E. AND BUCKLEY, C. (2023). Harris, O'Boyle, and Warbrick: Law of the European Convention on Human Rights. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

HATHAWAY, J. C. (2021). The Rights of Refugees under International Law, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

HIRVELÄ PÄIVI, S. H. (2021). Right to a Fair Trial: A Practical Guide to the Article 6 Case-Law of the European Court of Human Rights. Cambridge – Antwerp – Chicago: Intersentia.

KIESTRA, L. R. (2014). The Impact of the European Convention on Human Rights on Private International Law. Hague: T. M. C. Asser Press.

LILLO LOBOS, R. (2022). Understanding Due Process in Non-Criminal Matters, Cham: Springer.

PAULSSON, J. (2005). Denial of Justice in International Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

REIMANN, M. (2012). ‘Cost and Fee Allocation in Civil Procedure: A Synthesis’, in Cost and Fee Allocation in Civil Procedure, ed. Mathias Reimann (Cham: Springer), 3-56.

SCHABAS, W. (2015). The European Convention on Human Rights: A Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

SILVA DE FREITAS, E. (2021). ‘Money, Blackmail and Lawsuits: Revisiting Coventry v. Lawrence and the Principle of (In)equality of Arms’, Erasmus Law Review, 14(4), 198-210. https://doi.org/10.5553/ELR.000207

TIMMER, A. (2013). ‘A quiet revolution: vulnerability in the European Court of Human Rights’, in Vulnerability: reflections on a new ethical foundation for law and politics, eds. Martha Fineman and Anna Grear. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, pp. 147-170.

VILLIGER, M. E. (2022). Handbook of the European Convention on Human Rights. Leiden: Brill Nijhoff.