FOURTH SECTION
CASE OF BALOGH AND OTHERS v. HUNGARY
(Application no. 26982/12 and 9 other applications – see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
10 December 2015
This judgment is final. It may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Balogh and Others v. Hungary,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Vincent A. De Gaetano, President,
Egidijus Kūris,
Gabriele Kucsko-Stadlmayer, judges,
and Hasan Bakırcı Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 19 November 2015,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
1. The cases originated in applications against Hungary lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table.
2. The applications were communicated to the Hungarian Government (“the Government”).
THE FACTS
3. The list of applicants, their representatives and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.
4. The applicants complained of the inadequate conditions of their detention and of the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law.
THE LAW
I. JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS
5. Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.
II. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLES 3 AND 13 OF THE CONVENTION
6. The applicants complained of the inadequate conditions of their detention and that they had no effective remedy in this connection. They relied on Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention, which read as follows:
Article 3
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Article 13
“Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in this Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority ...”
7. The Court notes that the applicants were kept in detention in poor conditions. The details of the applicants’ detention are indicated in the appended table. The Court refers to the principles established in its case‑law regarding inadequate conditions of detention (see, for instance, Kudła v. Poland [GC], no. 30210/96, §§ 90‑94, ECHR 2000‑XI, and Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 139‑165, 10 January 2012). It reiterates in particular that extreme lack of space in a prison cell or overcrowding weighs heavily as an aspect to be taken into account for the purpose of establishing whether the impugned detention conditions were “degrading” from the point of view of Article 3 and may disclose a violation, both alone or taken together with other shortcomings (see, amongst many authorities, Karalevičius v. Lithuania, no. 53254/99, §§ 36‑40, 7 April 2005).
8. In the leading case of Varga and Others v. Hungary (nos. 14097/12, 45135/12, 73712/12, 34001/13, 44055/13, and 64586/13, 10 March 2015), the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.
9. 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 and merits of these complaints. Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the applicants’ conditions of detention were inadequate.
10. The Court further notes that the applicants did not have at their disposal an effective remedy by which to submit their complaints concerning their conditions of detention.
11. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention.
III. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
12. Article 41 of the Convention provides:
“If the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party.”
13. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Varga and Others v. Hungary, nos. 14097/12, 45135/12, 73712/12, 34001/13, 44055/13, and 64586/13, 10 March 2015), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.
14. The Court considers it appropriate that the default interest rate should be based on the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank, to which should be added three percentage points.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,
1. Decides to join the applications;
2. Declares the applications admissible;
3. Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention and the lack of an effective remedy;
4. Holds
(a) that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, within three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;
(b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
Done in English, and notified in writing on 10 December 2015, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Hasan BakırcıVincent A. De Gaetano
Acting Deputy RegistrarPresident
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention
(inadequate conditions of detention and lack of any effective remedy in domestic law)
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant name
Date of birth
Representative name and location
Facility
Start and end date
Duration
Sq. m. per inmate
Specific grievances
Amount awarded for non-pecuniary damage per applicant
(in euros)[i]
Amount awarded for costs and expenses per application
(in euros)[ii]
26982/12
24/04/2012
András BALOGH
08/05/1965
Karsai Dániel András
Budapest
Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County Prison, Budapest Prison, Vác Prison and Márianosztra Prison
23/02/2006 to
26/03/2012
6 year(s) and 2 month(s)
1.6 - 2.1 m²
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell
20,500
300
131/13
17/12/2012
Zsolt TÓTH
30/05/1975
Turán Tünde
Budapest
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Prison and Budapest Prison
29/01/2012 to
05/03/2012
0 year(s) and 2 month(s)
Budapest Prison and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Prison
14/03/2012 to
23/07/2014
2 year(s) and 5 month(s)
Budapest Prison
23/07/2014
pending
1 year(s) and 3 month(s)
2 m²
2.6 m²
3.4 m²
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell, infestation of the cell with insects, only cold water in cell
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell, infestation of the cell with insects, only cold water in cell
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell, infestation of the cell with insects, only cold water in cell
13,500
300
6764/13
17/01/2013
László PATAKI
06/05/1979
Fahidi Gergely
Budapest
Budapest Prison, Block "A"
03/02/2011 to
20/04/2012
1 year(s) and 3 month(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "B"
20/04/2012 to
01/06/2012
0 year(s) and 2 month(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "A"
01/06/2012
pending
3 year(s) and 5 month(s)
2.6 m²
3.1 m²
3.25 m²
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell, shower only once a week, infestation of the cell with insects, lack of (adequate) heating, lack of (sufficient) natural light
infestation of the cell with insects, lack of (adequate) heating, lack of (sufficient) natural light, shower only once a week
shower only once a week, toilet not separated from the rest of the cell, infestation of the cell with insects, lack of (sufficient) natural light, lack of (adequate) heating
16,500
300
19712/13
06/03/2013
Zsolt NAGY
07/01/1971
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Prison
23/04/2010 to
10/12/2012
2 year(s) and 8 month(s)
2 m²
shower only once a week, bedbugs
10,000
19892/13
11/03/2013
Csaba JÁRÓKA
22/09/1982
Turán Tünde
Budapest
Budapest Correctional Facility, Block III. ("Maglódi/Venyige")
02/08/2010 to
23/09/2010
0 year(s) and 2 month(s)
Budapest Prison
23/09/2010
pending
5 year(s) and 1 month(s)
3.75 m²
2.6 m²
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell, lack of fresh air, only cold water in cell
17,800
300
37487/13
04/06/2013
János ZUSCHLAG
07/05/1977
Bács-Kiskun County Prison
02/09/2007 to
30/06/2008
0 year(s) and 10 month(s)
Állampuszta Prison
30/06/2008 to
30/08/2008
0 year(s) and 3 month(s)
Bács-Kiskun County Prison
30/08/2008 to
01/02/2012
3 year(s) and 6 month(s)
3 m²
2.5 m²
1.9 m²
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell, insufficient number of beds in the cell, only cold water in cell
insufficient number of beds in the cell, only cold water in cell
insufficient number of beds in the cell, only cold water in cell
15,800
42486/13
21/06/2013
Tamás József BULENDA
18/09/1982
Németh Renáta
Budapest
Budapest Correctional Facility
15/09/2004 to
30/11/2004
0 year(s) and 3 month(s)
Pálhalma Prison
30/11/2004 to
20/09/2005
0 year(s) and 10 month(s)
Budapest Prison
20/09/2005 to
23/12/2012
7 year(s) and 4 month(s)
3.75 m²
2.5 m²
3.3 m²
infestation of the cell with insects
infestation of the cell with insects
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell, infestation of the cell with insects
27,300
300
42808/13
20/06/2013
Attila FÖLDES-SZABÓ
18/11/1969
Csőzik László
Budapest
Budapest Prison
01/10/2012
pending
3 year(s) and 1 month(s)
3 m²
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell, infestation of the cell with insects
11,300
300
43610/13
01/07/2013
Kornél LELKES
02/04/1980
Cech András
Budapest
Budapest Correctional Facility
29/10/2009 to
16/11/2009
0 year(s) and 1 month(s)
Budapest Prison and Győr-Moson-Sopron County Prison
21/06/2010 to
17/10/2012
2 year(s) and 4 month(s)
Budapest Prison
01/02/2013 to
22/04/2013
0 year(s) and 3 month(s)
Budapest Prison
22/04/2013 to
29/06/2013
0 year(s) and 3 month(s)
3.75 m²
2.5 m²
3.1 m²
3.6 m²
shower only once a week
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell, shower only once a week
shower only once a week
shower only once a week
10,800
300
43868/13
24/06/2013
László SANYÓ
24/02/1979
Hajdú-Bihar County Prison
08/06/2011 to
29/05/2012
1 year(s)
Budapest Prison
06/06/2012 to
20/12/2013
1 year(s) and 7 month(s)
2.7 m²
2.6 m²
lack of fresh air, shower only once a week
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell, infestation of the cell with insects
9,800
[i] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
[ii] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
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