On 25 September 2026, the European Court of Human Rights has adopted final amendments to Rules 36 and 44 on legal representation. This adopted Rules are a modified version of the original proposal where the Court also referred to “vulnerable applicants” or persons deprived of legal capacity for whom the Court may have requested the responded governments to appoint a representative.
According to Simona Florescu, Validity’s Litigation Director, the Court’s original proposal risked undermining the agency and autonomy of persons with disabilities by portraying them as inherently vulnerable and in need of protection.
In March 2026, Validity Foundation, together with Pro Iura and a number of other NGOs and two law offices, submitted a response to the Court’s consultation on the proposed amendments to Rule 36 and Rule 44. The submission called for a review of the proposal, including by clarifying its scope, and by prioritising the appointment of a representative of the applicant’s own choice, without excessive deference to domestic procedures that are under the respondent Government’s control.
The text now in force is a welcome clarification that the provisions will apply only to cases concerning children, rather than to “vulnerable applicants” in general.
However, the final text still does not appear to clarify important aspects such as when the Government must ensure the appointment of an independent representative, and if an applicant’s own choice will prevail in all cases. The new text does not adequately take into account the power imbalances within proceedings before the Court, where the Government is also the defendant; or overcome the deferral to domestic law for the appointment of such a representative.
We look forward to the forthcoming Practice Direction, which should further clarify how the amendments will work in practice. We will continue to contribute to the implementation dialogue.
We thank all the organisations that joined our earlier submission: ASYLEX, The European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC), Equality Now, Gentium, Kera Foundation, Network of Independent Experts, Partnership for Human Rights (PHR), Sapari, StraLi, The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), The International Rescue Committee (IRC), The Lithuanian Red Cross, Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group (WISG), Tereza Bártová, LL.M., and Kollarics Flóra Ügyvédi Iroda.
Read the Court’s press release.
Read the submission of Validity Foundation, Pro Jura and the other organisations here.