Claim assessment
Determining whether your case can reach Strasbourg
We review whether you hold a final, unenforced ruling against a public body and assess the case's admissibility before the ECHR. We verify the exhaustion of domestic remedies, the applicable Convention rights, and the strategic viability of the claim before you commit resources.
How it works
Four steps, and at each one you know what you provide and what we do.
You send us what you have
Invoices, contracts, rulings, correspondence: whatever there is. It does not need to be complete, because part of the work is telling you exactly what is missing.
We look at whether the claim holds
We check the nature of the debtor body, the state of the proceedings, which deadlines have passed and which are live, and whether any domestic remedy is still open.
We tell you where you stand
You get it in writing: whether the claim can be pursued, through which route, on what timeline, and what documents you need to gather before starting.
You decide
With the opinion in hand you decide whether to go on, and with whom. There is no obligation to continue with us, and the opinion is yours either way.
What the engagement covers
Point by point, what we take on.
What we review
- Nature and solvency of the debtor body
- State and finality of the proceedings
- Deadlines passed and deadlines live
- Documents available and documents missing
What you get
- Written opinion on whether it can be pursued
- Recommended procedural route
- Estimated timeline by phase
- List of documents to gather
What it does not cover
- Filing of any submission
- Representation before any court
- Any commitment to continue
Who engages us for this
The creditor profiles that most often arrive at this engagement.
SuppliersContracts and invoices left unpaid by a public authority.
Service companiesWaste, transport, maintenance, utilities.
Banks and lendersLoans and guarantees to bodies that stopped paying them back.
Funds and SPVsAcquired public-sector portfolios that were never enforced.
Public-sector employeesBack pay, severance and supplements already awarded.
How we work
Six commitments that hold across all six engagements.
We tell you no first
If the claim cannot be pursued, you hear it before anything is signed. A file that cannot prosper is no use to anyone.
A local lawyer in every country
The domestic phase is run by someone who litigates in that forum every day. The European phase we run ourselves, because it is the same everywhere.
The lawyer who briefs you is the one who runs it
The file does not change hands when the meeting ends. Whoever receives you is who signs the submissions.
The deadlines of the procedure, not estimates
You get the dates the rules set, not an optimistic guess. When a deadline cannot be extended, we say so before we start.
Everything in writing
Each phase ends in a document you can take to your board: the opinion, the submission as filed, the ruling.
Nothing you cannot check
Every statement about case law comes with its judgment and its application number. You can verify it yourself on HUDOC.
Further reading
Three articles that go into the detail.
The Role of the European Court of Human Rights in Debt Recovery
The ECHR is not primarily a debt-recovery forum, but when the State itself is the debtor and domestic remedies have failed, its jurisdiction becomes decisive for creditors.
What It Costs and How Long It Takes
The Court charges no filing fee. That is the only simple part of the answer. Here is the rest, phase by phase.
Spain: What Counts as Exhausting Domestic Remedies
More Spanish applications fail on exhaustion than on any question of substance. The recurso de amparo is usually the reason — taken when it was not required, skipped when it was.
Ready to Move Forward?
New ECHR rulings are holding States to account. Yours could be next.
Request a free evaluation