Rule 1 Definitions

the term ‘Convention’ means the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the Protocols thereto;

the expression ‘plenary Court’ means the European Court of Human Rights sitting in plenary session;

the expression ‘Grand Chamber’ means the Grand Chamber of seventeen judges constituted in pursuance of Article 26 § 1 of the Convention;

the term ‘Section’ means a Chamber set up by the plenary Court for a fixed period in pursuance of Article 25 (b) of the Convention and the expression ‘President of the Section’ means the judge elected by the plenary Court in pursuance of Article 25 (c) of the Convention as President of such a Section;

the term ‘Chamber’ means any Chamber of seven judges constituted in pursuance of Article 26 § 1 of the Convention and the expression ‘President of the Chamber’ means the judge presiding over such a ‘Chamber’;

the term ‘Committee’ means a Committee of three judges set up in pursuance of Article 26 § 1 of the Convention and the expression ‘President of the Committee’ means the judge presiding over such a ‘Committee’;

the expression ‘single-judge formation’ means a single judge sitting in accordance with Article 26 § 1 of the Convention;

the term ‘Court’ means either the plenary Court, the Grand Chamber, a Section, a Chamber, a Committee, a single judge or the panel of five judges referred to in Article 43 § 2 of the Convention;

the expression ‘ad hoc judge’ means any person chosen in pursuance of Article 26 § 4 of the Convention and in accordance with Rule 29 to sit as a member of the Grand Chamber or as a member of a Chamber;

the terms ‘judge’ and ‘judges’ mean the judges elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe or ad hoc judges;

the expression ‘Judge Rapporteur’ means a judge appointed to carry out the tasks provided for in Rules 48 and 49;

the term ‘non-judicial rapporteur’ means a member of the Registry charged with assisting the single-judge formations provided for in Article 24 § 2 of the Convention;

the term ‘delegate’ means a judge who has been appointed to a delegation by the Chamber and the expression ‘head of the delegation’ means the delegate appointed by the Chamber to lead its delegation;

the term ‘delegation’ means a body composed of delegates, Registry members and any other person appointed by the Chamber to assist the delegation;

the term ‘Registrar’ denotes the Registrar of the Court or the Registrar of a Section according to the context;

the terms ‘party’ and ‘parties’ mean

the expression ‘third party’ means any Contracting Party or any person concerned or the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights who, as provided for in Article 36 §§ 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention, has exercised the right to submit written comments and take part in a hearing, or has been invited to do so;

the terms ‘hearing’ and ‘hearings’ mean oral proceedings held on the admissibility and/or merits of an application or in connection with a request for revision or an advisory opinion, a request for interpretation by a party or by the Committee of Ministers, or a question whether there has been a failure to fulfil an obligation which may be referred to the Court by virtue of Article 46 § 4 of the Convention;

the expression ‘Committee of Ministers’ means the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe;

the terms ‘former Court’ and ‘Commission’ mean respectively the European Court and European Commission of Human Rights set up under former Article 19 of the Convention.