As a litigant

ARTICLE 6 of the Convention guarantees everyone a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal in the determination of his/her civil rights and obligations. This Article applies also in criminal cases.

The Convention does not guarantee a fair trial in relation to all rights or obligations. It is therefore important to establish what "civil" rights and obligations include.

The European Court has declared that the relations between private persons in for example employment, property and commercial law are always civil. There are also some "administrative" or "public" rights that are "civil" within the meaning of the Convention. However, the Court has not formulated a consistent criteria of what kind of rights are "civil", but has decided on a case by case basis. Examples of situations which the Court has found involved a civil right or obligation follow:

• Decisions concerning property
• Decisions concerning the right to engage in commercial activity
• Decisions concerning children, for example paternity, custody and contact
• Decisions concerning right to social security benefits

Following are examples of issues that are not regarded as civil rights or obligations:

• Decisions concerning general taxation issues and taxation assessments.
• Decisions concerning immigration and nationality.
• Decisions concerning liability for military service.
• Decisions concerning the right to state medical treatment.
• Decisions concerning the right to state education.

A fair hearing in the context of civil litigation means for example that

• A person must have access to court which must not be unreasonably obstructed
• Each party to the proceedings must be given a reasonable opportunity to present his/her case in conditions that do not place him/her at a substantial disadvantage against his/her opponent
• The court must give reasons for its judgement although it is not obliged to give a detailed answer to every argument put forward by a litigant

How long is "reasonable" depends on the circumstances in the particular case and there is not absolute time limit. When the European Court of Human Rights decides whether this requirement has been fulfilled, it has regards to (1) the complexity of the case, (2) the conduct of the applicant and (3) the conduct of the authorities.

For a court to be independent within the meaning of Article 6, it needs to be independent of both the executive and the parties. Impartiality means lack of prejudice or bias.

As an employee

As a litigant

In commerce

As a defendant

In immigration

Family Law

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