THIRD SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 80380/17
Maksim Sergeyevich BUDKEVICH against Russia
and 30 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 25 June 2020 as a Committee composed of:
Alena Poláčková, President,
Dmitry Dedov,
Gilberto Felici, judges,
and Liv Tigerstedt, 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 and the observations in reply submitted by the applicants,
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 Russian Government (“the Government”). In some of the applications, complaints under Article 13 of the Convention about absence of domestic remedies in Russia to complain about poor conditions of detention were also communicated to 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) and under Article 13 of the Convention (lack of an effective remedy for conditions of detention)
The applicants complained of conditions of post-conviction detention in violation of the national requirements during periods which had already come to an end (for further details see the appended table). Many of them also argued that they did not have an effective domestic remedy to complain about those conditions at the national level. Articles 3 and 13 read:
Article 3
Prohibition of torture
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Article 13
Right to an effective remedy
“Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in [the] Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity.”
The Government submitted their observations. In some cases they disputed the violations alleged. On 10 January 2020 the Government submitted additional information about the new Compensation Act and asked to treat it as a new remedy in respect of conditions of detention complaints under Articles 3 and 13.
The applicants were asked to submit their comments in reply. In their responses they questioned the effectiveness and availability of the remedies invoked by the Government.
In its recent decision of Shmelev and Others v. Russia ((dec.), no. 41743/17 and 16 others, 17 March 2020), the Court has examined similar applications lodged by Russian applicants and declared them inadmissible for non-exhaustion of domestic remedies. In particular, the Court took into account that on 27 January 2020 the new Compensation Act entered into force in Russia. It noted that the Act provides that any detainee who alleges that his or her conditions of detention are in breach of national legislation or international agreements of the Russian Federation can apply to a court. The novelty of the Act is that a (former) detainee can claim, at the same time, a finding of a violation of inadequate detention conditions and financial compensation for such breach.
In that decision, the Court further held as follows:
“122. The Court reiterates that, where the detention is over, a compensatory remedy can suffice to provide the applicants with fair redress for the alleged breach of Article 3 (see case-law cited above in paragraph 87). Accordingly, it is sufficient to examine whether the applicants concerned can be required to exhaust the compensatory remedy.
123. As mentioned above, the Court may examine the effectiveness of a newly introduced domestic remedy even if it was not available at the time of lodging of applications, where such remedy is introduced at a later stage in response to the Court’s finding of a systemic problem (see paragraph 106 above and the case-law cited therein).
124. The Court has concluded that the Compensation Act presents, in principle, an adequate and effective avenue for compensatory redress in cases raising issues of improper conditions of pre-trial detention. It has found that it is directly accessible to the persons concerned, is furnished with the requisite procedural guarantees associated with judicial adversarial proceedings, that there are no reasons to expect that such claims would not be processed within a reasonable time, or that the compensation would not be paid promptly. It also concluded that the system offers reasonable prospects of success to the applicants in terms of the compensation awards.
125. The Compensation Act is equipped with transitional provisions, so that any person whose complaint about inadequate conditions of detention was pending with this Court at the time of the Act’s entry into force can apply within 180 days after that date (see paragraph 63 above). The same would apply to those whose complaints would be declared inadmissible by this Court in view of the Act coming into force.
126. The Court accepts that the domestic courts have not yet been able to establish any practice under the Compensation Act. However, the Court has already found that doubts about the prospects of a remedy, which appears to offer a reasonable possibility of redress, are not a sufficient reason to eschew it (see Shtolts and Others, cited above, § 111).
127. Accordingly, even though the domestic remedy was not available to the applicants at the time when they applied to the Court, the situation justifies a departure from the general rule on exhaustion and requires the applicants in question to seek compensation under the Compensation Act.
128. The Court accepts that the outcome of the applicants’ claims under the new provisions cannot at present be ascertained. However, as the Court has already noted on similar occasions, it would remain open for the applicants to lodge fresh complaints should their claims to the domestic courts prove unsuccessful, for one reason or another. The Court’s ultimate supervisory jurisdiction remains in respect of any complaints lodged by the applicants who, in conformity with the principle of subsidiarity, have exhausted available avenues of redress (see Domján, § 37; and Shtolts and Others, §§ 112-113, both decisions cited above). The Court will remain free to assess the compliance of application of the domestic practice with the pilot judgment and the Convention standards in general, including in respect of the standard of evidence employed by the domestic courts (see the summary of the relevant case-law in paragraph 82 above).
129. Finally, the Court does not lose sight of a number of positive developments related to the situation with pre-trial detention in Russia ...”
Having thus considered that there exists an effective remedy in Russia for cases where applicants complain about a breach of Article 3 in respect of past pre-trial detention, and having dismissed the applications by such applicants for non-exhaustion, the Court declared that it will apply that approach to all similar applications (Shmelev and Others, (dec.), cited above, § 130).
The Court also found that applicants who complained about their detention in overcrowded conditions of post-conviction facilities in violation of the national statutory norm of two square meters per person, and where their detention in such conditions was already over, found themselves in a situation similar to that of persons whose past pre-trial detention had been in breach of the applicable national standards. The Court stressed that for them, as well as for other persons in similar situation, the new Compensatory Act presents, in principle, an adequate and effective avenue of obtaining compensatory redress, and offers reasonable prospects of success (Shmelev and Others, (dec.), cited above, § 154). It thus also rejected for non-exhaustion of domestic remedies applications where applicants complained about post- conviction detention in violation of the national statutory standard and decided that actual or potential applicants finding themselves in a similar situation – i.e. where the complaint concerns past correctional detention in conditions in breach of the applicable domestic standards – are also expected to first make use of the compensatory remedy introduced in January 2020 (Shmelev and Others, (dec.), cited above, §§ 155-156).
Turning to the circumstances of the present cases and having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility of these complaints. It thus considers that in so far as the applicants have lodged prima facie well-founded complaints about breach of their rights by improper conditions of their detention, as described in the appended table, the Compensation Act affords them an opportunity to obtain compensatory redress. Accordingly, the applicants should exhaust this remedy before their complaints can be examined by the Court. It follows that their complaints, as listed in the appended table, under Articles 3 and 13 should be declared inadmissible pursuant to Article 35 §§ 1 and 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 16 July 2020.
Liv TigerstedtAlena Poláčková
Acting Deputy RegistrarPresident
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
Date of birth
Representative’s name and location
Facility
Start and end date
Duration
Inmates per brigade
Sq. m per inmate
Number of toilets per brigade
Specific grievances
80380/17
18/09/2017
Maksim Sergeyevich BUDKEVICH
15/05/1981
IK-25 Komi Republic
05/05/2016 to
05/04/2018
1 year(s) and 11 month(s)
and 1 day(s)
2 m²
Overcrowding, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease.
21827/18
26/04/2018
Aleksandr Vasilyevich GULYAYEV
19/06/1984
IK-1 Arkhangelsk Region
26/06/2010 to
11/11/2019
9 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 17 day(s)
85 inmate(s)
1.7 m²
5 toilet(s)
Overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, insufficient number of toilets, low pressure in the water supply system, no or restricted access to running water, lack of fresh air, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food.
25329/18
02/07/2018
Andrey Aleksandrovich USHAKOV
15/04/1979
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
01/02/2015 to
09/01/2019
3 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 9 day(s)
150 inmate(s)
1.2 m²
Overcrowding, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to toilet, narrow passages in the cell, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, no or restricted access to warm water, poor quality of potable water, no or restricted access to shower, lack of requisite medical assistance, poor quality of food, inadequate temperature, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air.
29560/18
07/06/2018
Aleksey Valeryevich FOMICHEV
14/02/1972
IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region
18/09/2007 to
25/07/2019
11 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 8 day(s)
140 inmate(s)
2 m²
6 toilet(s)
Poor quality of food, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, no or restricted access to warm water, overcrowding.
31358/18
17/08/2018
Aleksandr Vladimirovich KATAYEV
24/11/1971
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
28/08/2014 to
12/10/2019
5 year(s) and 1 month(s)
and 15 day(s)
1.7 m²
Lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient electric light, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, overcrowding, poor quality of food, mouldy or dirty cell.
32314/18
27/08/2018
Viktor Ivanovich NEFEDYEV
28/06/1973
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
18/10/2010 to
10/12/2019
9 year(s) and 1 month(s)
and 23 day(s)
1.7 m²
Overcrowding, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, inadequate temperature, lack of or insufficient electric light, poor quality of food.
33840/18
17/06/2018
Aleksandr Gennadyevich BASTRIKOV
09/08/1977
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
20/11/2017 to
10/06/2018
6 month(s) and 22 day(s)
1.5 m²
Lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of ventilation, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities.
33846/18
25/06/2018
Sergey Sergeyevich PERMINOV
19/03/1978
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
25/11/2017 to
17/12/2019
2 year(s) and 23 day(s)
144 inmate(s)
1.7 m²
Lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient natural light, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to warm water, infestation of cell with insects/rodents.
40372/18
31/07/2018
Yaroslav Vitalyevich GRIGORYEV
05/03/1975
IK-24 Komi Republic
01/12/2016 to
01/05/2018
1 year(s) and 5 month(s)
and 1 day(s)
1.6 m²
Overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of privacy for toilet.
44677/18
29/08/2018
Sergey Valeryevich YEREMENKO
22/03/1978
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
17/01/2015 to
10/03/2020
5 year(s) and 1 month(s)
and 23 day(s)
1.7 m²
No or restricted access to warm water, inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities, lack of or insufficient electric light, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, stench, mouldy or dirty cell, lack or inadequate furniture.
44910/18
30/08/2018
Viktor Yuryevich SVERKUNOV
14/01/1979
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
24/04/2018 to
23/02/2020
1 year(s) and 10 month(s)
138 inmate(s)
1.58 m²
8 toilet(s)
Overcrowding, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities, no or restricted access to warm water, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient electric light.
45589/18
10/09/2018
Sergey Nikolayevich VINOKUROV
20/12/1982
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
30/11/2017 to
01/03/2020
2 year(s) and 3 month(s)
and 2 day(s)
135 inmate(s)
1.3-1.5 m²
Overcrowding, insufficient number of toilets and wash basins, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of fresh air, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents.
45657/18
03/09/2018
Vyacheslav Georgiyevich VETROV
23/09/1959
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
12/04/2011 to
25/02/2020
8 year(s) and 10 month(s)
and 14 day(s)
150 inmate(s)
1.6 m²
Overcrowding, narrow passages in the cell, no or restricted access to warm water.
47114/18
19/01/2019
Rustam Rimovich MAVLITOV
22/02/1981
IK-49 Komi Republic
25/12/2013 to
27/11/2019
5 year(s) and 11 month(s)
and 3 day(s)
1.8 m²
Overcrowding, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of fresh air.
47264/18
16/09/2018
Petr Nikolayevich LOGUNOV
03/06/1962
Shirokov Oleg Valeryevich
Nizhniy Tagil
IK-3 Sverdlovsk Region
29/12/2010 to
19/03/2018
7 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 20 day(s)
50 inmate(s)
2 m²
Lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of toiletries, no or restricted access to running water, poor quality of food, inadequate temperature.
52999/18
30/10/2018
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich GORBACHENKO
15/05/1986
IK-1 Komi Republic
01/03/2017 to
28/07/2019
2 year(s) and 4 month(s)
and 28 day(s)
71 inmate(s)
1.8 m²
Lack of outfit, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, twin beds, inadequate temperature, lack of ventilation, passive smoking, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to shower.
54493/18
08/11/2018
Nikolay Yevgenyevich IKS
02/03/1976
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
11/09/2008 to
29/02/2020
11 year(s) and 5 month(s)
and 19 day(s)
2 m²
Lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, inadequate temperature, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to shower, overcrowding.
59812/18
06/12/2018
Andrey Sergeyevich KLIMOV
01/09/1977
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
15/06/2018 to
17/12/2019
1 year(s) and 6 month(s)
and 3 day(s)
110 inmate(s)
1.7 m²
8 toilet(s)
Lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to running water, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities.
3157/19
17/12/2018
Ivan Aleksandrovich YEFIMOV
06/10/1976
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
01/02/2018 to
21/11/2019
1 year(s) and 9 month(s)
and 21 day(s)
4 inmate(s)
2 m²
1 toilet(s)
Lack of fresh air, overcrowding, no or restricted access to warm water.
3160/19
18/12/2018
Vitaliy Vladimirovich RYZHKOV
27/08/1975
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
11/10/2009 to
21/11/2019
10 year(s) and 1 month(s)
and 11 day(s)
160 inmate(s)
1.45 m²
5 toilet(s)
Overcrowding, no proper toilet facilities until 2014.
3305/19
10/12/2018
Roman Vitalyevich REMESHEVSKIY
20/04/1983
IK-1 Komi Republic
29/11/2015 to
04/02/2020
4 year(s) and 2 month(s)
and 7 day(s)
50 inmate(s)
2 m²
Overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to running water, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease.
5285/19
10/01/2019
Pavel Vladimirovich SENYUKOV
10/07/1985
IK-1 Komi Republic
13/08/2017 to
24/05/2020
2 year(s) and 9 month(s)
and 12 day(s)
270 inmate(s)
1.6 m²
Overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, no or restricted access to warm water, insufficient number of wash basins and toilets, poor quality of potable water, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient electric light, inadequate space of the exercise yard, unpleasant odour from the nearby plants, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to shower.
8568/19
13/12/2018
Konstantin Telmanovich KAYTUKOV
23/10/1979
IK-8 Komi Republic
22/02/2017 to
16/03/2020
3 year(s) and 24 day(s)
1.5 m²
Overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient electric light.
13411/19
02/02/2019
Vadim Aleksandrovich SOSNIN
17/10/1986
Andreyev Ashot Aleksandrovich
Syktyvkar
IK-1 Komi Republic
09/10/2015 to
10/08/2018
2 year(s) and 10 month(s)
and 2 day(s)
270 inmate(s)
2 m²
15 toilet(s)
Infestation of cell with insects/rodents, overcrowding, lack or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to shower.
13504/19
21/02/2019
Sergey Aleksandrovich TERENTYEV
17/07/1978
IK-1 Komi Republic
17/10/2015 to
04/05/2019
3 year(s) and 6 month(s)
and 18 day(s)
100 inmate(s)
2 m²
7 toilet(s)
Lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of fresh air, poor quality of potable water, no or restricted access to potable water, poor quality of food.
14722/19
04/03/2019
Igor Alekseyevich VALENTSIN
24/10/1986
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
30/10/2017 to
13/01/2020
2 year(s) and 2 month(s)
and 15 day(s)
144 inmate(s)
1.7 m²
8 toilet(s)
Overcrowding, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to running water, no or restricted access to warm water, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to shower.
15629/19
10/03/2019
Damir Arkadyevich FOMINYKH
27/06/1988
Andreyev Ashot Aleksandrovich
Syktyvkar
IK-1 Komi Republic
15/02/2017 to
10/01/2019
1 year(s) and 10 month(s)
and 27 day(s)
1.8 m²
Overcrowding, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air.
20618/19
31/03/2019
Sergey Borisovich ASAFOV
08/04/1979
IK-49 Komi Republic
18/10/2016 to
16/12/2019
3 year(s) and 1 month(s)
and 29 day(s)
1.5 m²
Lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, overcrowding, poor quality of potable water, mouldy or dirty cell.
22390/19
08/04/2019
Dmitriy Mikhaylovich BELOUSOV
26/01/1976
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
13/10/2017 to
13/11/2019
2 year(s) and 1 month(s)
and 1 day(s)
1.61 m²
Lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities, overcrowding.
22694/19
14/04/2019
Nikolay Nikolayevich PAVLENKO
19/02/1966
IK-49 Komi Republic
15/03/2011 to
28/12/2018
7 year(s) and 9 month(s)
and 14 day(s)
126 inmate(s)
1.5 m²
Overcrowding, lack of cell surface to move freely between furniture items, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to running water, scarce surface of canteen area, lack or inadequate furniture, no or restricted access to potable water, poor quality of running water.
26886/19
22/04/2019
Aslan Vasilyevich TAYSUMOV
10/09/1987
IK-49 Komi Republic
13/01/2016 to
18/12/2018
2 year(s) and 11 month(s)
and 6 day(s)
50 inmate(s)
2 m²
2 toilet(s)
Overcrowding, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient electric light, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, inadequate temperature, poor quality of food.
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