As outlined in a previous edition of the PILA bulletin, Protocol 14 to the European Convention on Human Rights entered into force on 1 June 2010. The Protocol, which aims to give the Court the necessary means to concentrate on the most important cases while at the same time processing applications within a reasonable time, has been the subject of a recent admissibility decision.
In the case of Korlev (II) v Russia (application no. 25551/05), the European Court of Human Rights found it necessary to assess whether the applicant's complaint complied with the new admissibility criterion of "significant disadvantage" which requires that where the applicant has not suffered such disadvantage, the application is inadmissible unless "respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto requires an examination of the application on the merits and provided that no case may be rejected on this ground which has not been duly considered by a domestic tribunal". The Court observed that a violation of a right must attain a "minimum level of severity to warrant consideration by an international court".
The applicant's complaint here was limited to the failure to pay him an amount of money equivalent to less than a euro, and so the Court concluded that he had not suffered a "significant disadvantage". The Court found that he did not fall within the exception outlined above and declared the application inadmissible.
To view the press release of the European Court of Human Rights on this case, please click here.