FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 14094/15
Bogdan Sorin ARHIRE against Romania
and 16 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 23 September 2021 as a Committee composed of:
Armen Harutyunyan, President,
Jolien Schukking,
Ana Maria Guerra Martins, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,
Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The list of applicants is set out in the appended table.
The applicants’ complaints under Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention were communicated to the Romanian Government (“the Government”).
THE LAWJoinder of the applications
Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.Complaints under Article 3 of the Convention (inadequate conditions of detention)
The applicants complained of the inadequate conditions of their detention. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows:
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
The Government argued that the applicants had lost their victim status because they had benefitted from the remedy offered by Law no. 169/2017 amending and completing Law no. 254/2013 on the execution of sentences. They asked the Court to reject the present applications for being incompatible ratione personae with the provisions of the Convention.
The applicants disagreed claiming that the compensation awarded was insufficient.
The Court notes that in a recent decision Dîrjan and Ştefan v. Romania ((dec.), nos. 14224/15 and 50977/15, 15 April 2020) it has examined similar applications as the ones in the present case and declared them inadmissible considering that the applicants had lost their victim status. The Court noted that Law no. 169/2017 amending and completing Law no. 254/2013 on the execution of sentences, adopted following the pilot judgment in the case of Rezmiveș and Others v. Romania (nos. 61467/12 and 3 others, 25 April 2017) and in force between October 2017 and December 2019, had been an effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention in Romanian prisons. More specifically, the above law had set forth a compensatory remedy, available for periods of detention ranging from 2012 to 2019 and allowing the deduction of six days for 30 days spent in conditions of detention that fell short of standards compatible with Article 3 of the Convention (see Dîrjan and Ştefan, cited above, § 28). This benefit had impacted on the term of the prison sentences giving the detainees the opportunity of earlier release on parole.
Turning to the circumstances of the present cases, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on their admissibility of those complaints. The above-mentioned remedy was available to the applicants in the present applications and, indeed, they benefitted from it. Thus, on different dates, the domestic authorities, applying the provisions described in the abovementioned decision Dîrjan and Ştefan, awarded compensation, through the reduction of days, to the applicants for the entire period of detention spent in inadequate conditions of which they complained (for further details see the appended table). Furthermore, the applicants were released from prison or were transferred to detention facilities they did not complain about.
The Court is therefore satisfied that the applicants have been afforded adequate redress and can no longer claim to be victims of a violation of their rights under Article 3 of the Convention, insofar as the conditions of their detention, described in the appended table, are concerned. It follows that the applications in this part are incompatible ratione personae with the provisions of the Convention and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the Convention.Remaining complaints
In applications nos. 14094/15, 7932/16, 35226/16, 37695/16, 40683/16, 41256/16, 42971/16, 46337/16, 56889/16, 61263/16 and 61779/16, the applicants also raised other complaints under Article 3 of the Convention, including, in some of them, related to the conditions of their detention during periods preceding the start date specified in the appended table and under Article 8 of the Convention.
The Court has examined these complaints and considers that, in the light of all the material in its possession and in so far as the matters complained of are within its competence, these complaints either do not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention or do not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Convention or the Protocols thereto.
It follows that this part of the abovementioned applications must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Declares the applications inadmissible.
Done in English and notified in writing on 14 October 2021.
{signature_p_2}
Viktoriya Maradudina Armen Harutyunyan
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention
(inadequate conditions of detention)
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Year of birth
Representative’s name and location
Facility
Start and end date
Duration
Domestic compensation awarded
(in days)
based on total period calculated domestically
14094/15
06/07/2015
Bogdan Sorin ARHIRE
1983
Miercurea Ciuc Prison
04/01/2013 to
25/08/2016
3 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 22 day(s)
420 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 10/08/2018
39249/15
21/08/2015
Ion POPII
1972
Colibași and Rahova Prisons
07/01/2014 to
03/11/2017
3 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 28 day(s)
264 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 07/01/2014 to 03/11/2017
2828/16
25/01/2016
7932/16
09/03/2016
Tiberiu-Carol KALLAI
1981
Vasile Rareş Biro
Satu Mare
Oradea and Satu Mare Prisons
21/04/2015 to
03/05/2018
3 year(s) and 13 day(s)
414 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 24/07/2012 - 03/05/2018
35226/16
13/07/2016
Cosmin-Sarafim PAŞCAN
1983
Galați and Brăila Prisons
08/04/2014 to
06/03/2018
3 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 27 day(s)
408 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 24/07/2012 - 06/03/2018
37695/16
20/07/2016
Constantin ENACHE
1977
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Giurgiu and Jilava Prisons
13/02/2015 to
20/12/2018
3 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 8 day(s)
534 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 24/07/2012 - 23/12/2019
40683/16
09/08/2016
George CRISTEA
1963
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Giurgiu and Jilava Prisons
07/09/2015 to
08/01/2018
2 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 2 day(s)
306 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 23/07/2013 - 10/01/2018
41256/16
02/08/2016
Ion TUDOR
1982
Poarta Albă and Tulcea Prisons
03/06/2013 to
30/10/2019
6 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 28 day(s)
498 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 31/07/2012 - 30/10/2019
42971/16
31/10/2016
Titus ILIUȚĂ
1951
Bistrița and Gherla Prisons
13/01/2016 to
29/12/2017
1 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 17 day(s)
138 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 13/01/2016 - 29/12/2017
46337/16
01/08/2016
Ionel ZAMFIRACHE
1973
Iași Prison
05/04/2013 to
01/04/2014
11 month(s) and 28 day(s)
Iași and Galați Prisons
02/02/2016 to
20/12/2017
1 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 19 day(s)
336 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 24/07/2012 - 23/12/2019
49838/16
14/01/2017
Ciprian-Nicu FLOREA
1976
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Rahova Prison and Jilava Prison Hospital
06/05/2016 to
08/03/2018
1 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 3 day(s)
96 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 06/05/2016 to 08/03/2018
50846/16
07/10/2016
Anghel PATRAȘCU
1960
Ionela Mărgărit
Bucharest
Galați County Police Station and Brăila and Galați Prisons
19/07/2013 to
02/10/2018
5 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 14 day(s)
378 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 19/07/2013 - 02/10/2018
54020/16
15/11/2016
Marian MOHAN
1953
Magda-Mihaela Nicolae
Cornu de Jos
Bucharest Central Arrest, Rahova and Ploiești Prisons
15/10/2014 to
31/05/2017
2 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 17 day(s)
354 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 15/10/2014 to 26/11/2019
56889/16
22/03/2017
Ioan-Octavian POPOVICI
1982
Liviu Radu Popovici
Oradea
Satu Mare Prison
16/09/2016 to
18/09/2018
2 year(s) and 3 day(s)
438 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 24/07/2012 - 18/09/2018
61263/16
14/11/2016
Valeriu PISCUREANU
1964
Craiova and Târgu Jiu Prisons
16/01/2014 to
25/09/2018
4 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 10 day(s)
426 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 25/09/2018
61779/16
19/10/2016
Mădălin-Ștefan ȘTIRB
1990
Vasile Rareş Biro
Satu Mare
Oradea and Satu Mare Prisons
14/09/2012 to
01/11/2017
5 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 19 day(s)
372 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 24/07/2012 - 01/11/2017
62722/16
14/12/2016
Ștefan-Adrian POPESCU
1984
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Bucharest Central Arrest, Bucharest Police detention facilities no. 13, Rahova and Giurgiu Prisons
14/12/2012 to
11/04/2019
6 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 29 day(s)
444 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 14/12/2012 to 11/04/2019
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