According to Article 35 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights can only be approached after exhausting all national means of appeal. This means that the case should be presented to and ruled upon by the national courts before seeking recourse at the European Court of Human Rights. If the national means of appeal have been exhausted without success, the petitioner has the opportunity to file an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights. The timeframe for filing the appeal starts from the date of the final judgment.