Effective remedies in the context of the European Court of Human Rights case-law

It is indicated that the right of a person to a fair trial and an effective remedy for legal protection belongs to the fundamental principles of a state governed by law. Article 55 of the Constitution of Ukraine declares that every person has the opportunity to challenge in court the decisions, actions or inaction of state authorities, local self-government bodies, officials and service personnel. The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of judicial remedies in administrative proceedings through the lens of the well-established case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Particular attention is given to the substantive criteria employed by the ECtHR to assess the efficiency of national protection mechanisms, including the practical capability to restore the violated right, the ability of the remedy to eliminate the consequences of unlawful interference, the substantive correlation between the chosen remedy and the nature of the violation, the accessibility and adequacy of the procedure, the mandatory and timely enforcement of judicial decisions, and compliance with the reasonable-time requirement. The study emphasizes that the mere formal possibility to apply to a court cannot be regarded as an effective remedy if it does not ensure practical and enforceable outcomes. Based on key judgments such as Kudła v. Poland, Hornsby v. Greece, Frydlender v. France, Scordino v. Italy (No. 1), Volkov v. Ukraine, Rysovskyy v. Ukraine, and Shmalko v. Ukraine, the article outlines essential standards that national remedies must meet to fully restore the individual’s prior legal status and guarantee timely enforcement. It is demonstrated that these criteria align with Articles 6 §1 and 13 of the Convention and must be considered by Ukrainian administrative courts in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine and the Law on the Enforcement of ECtHR Judgments. Integrating ECtHR standards into judicial practice ensures genuine, rather than merely declaratory, protection of rights, eliminates legal uncertainty, strengthens judicial oversight over public authorities, and reinforces the rule of law within Ukraine’s administrative justice system.