FOURTH SECTION
CASE OF BOTA AND OTHERS v. HUNGARY
(Application no. 34753/12 and 12 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 Bota 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 case 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 Hungarian Government (“the Government”) were represented by Mr Z. Tallódi, Agent, Ministry of Justice.
THE FACTS
THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE
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 absence 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]
34753/12
31/05/2012
Sándor BOTA
12/03/1978
Karsai Dániel András
Budapest
Budapest Correctional Facility, Block III. ("Maglódi/Venyige")
25/07/2010 to
16/08/2010
0 year(s) and 1 month(s)
Balassagyarmat Prison
07/09/2010 to
16/12/2010
0 year(s) and 4 month(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "B"
16/12/2010
pending
4 year(s) and 9 month(s)
3.75 m²
2.6 m²
2.7 m²
shower only once a week
no proper separation of toilet
cockroaches, bedbugs
17,500
300
34754/12
31/05/2012
Zsolt MARTIN
01/06/1975
Karsai Dániel András
Budapest
Budapest Prison
08/08/2003 to
19/12/2005
2 year(s) and 5 month(s)
Szeged Prison
19/12/2005 to
06/06/2006
0 year(s) and 6 month(s)
Budapest Prison
06/06/2006 to
09/10/2012
6 year(s) and 5 month(s)
Márianosztra Prison
09/10/2012 to
01/12/2013
1 year(s) and 2 month(s)
Vác Prison
01/12/2013
pending
1 year(s) and 10 month(s)
1.9 m²
3.1 m²
3.3 m²
2.5 m²
2 m²
26,000
300
45140/12
10/07/2012
András Tibor VARGA
03/03/1978
Karsai Dániel András
Budapest
Márianosztra Prison and Prison Hospital, Tököl
14/01/2008 to
06/10/2008
0 year(s) and 9 month(s)
Budapest Correctional Facility, Block I. ("Nagy Ignác/Markó") and Márianosztra Prison
06/10/2008 to
06/04/2010
1 year(s) and 7 month(s)
Budapest Prison and Győr-Moson-Sopron County Prison
06/04/2010
pending
5 year(s) and 6 month(s)
3,1 m²
2.6 m²
3 m²
no proper separation of toilet
no proper separation of toilet
no proper separation of toilet
25,500
300
45848/12
10/07/2012
Miklós CSICSÁK
11/02/1971
Karsai Dániel András
Budapest
Békés County Prison
29/09/2005 to
28/08/2007
1 year(s) and 11 month(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "A"
29/08/2007 to
01/05/2012
4 year(s) and 9 month(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "B"
01/05/2012 to
17/07/2012
0 year(s) and 3 month(s)
2.1 m²
2.4 m²
3.3 m²
no proper separation of toilet
22,800
300
48473/12
25/07/2012
Vendel BODA
24/06/1946
Karsai Dániel András
Budapest
Baranya County Prison
10/12/2004 to
26/06/2005
0 year(s) and 7 month(s)
Budapest Prison
27/06/2005
pending
10 year(s) and 3 month(s)
1.9 m²
3.1 m²
no proper separation of toilet, shower only once a week
no proper separation of toilet
26,000
300
56357/12
24/08/2012
Imre FARKAS
26/05/1987
Fahidi Gergely
Budapest
Budapest Correctional Facility, Block I. ("Nagy Ignác/Markó")
24/05/2008 to
16/06/2008
0 year(s) and 1 month(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "A"
30/07/2009 to
25/02/2011
1 year(s) and 7 month(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "B"
25/02/2011 to
01/06/2012
1 year(s) and 4 month(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "A"
01/06/2012 to
11/08/2014
2 year(s) and 3 month(s)
2,6 m²
2.6 m²
3,1 m²
2.6 m²
bedbugs
no proper separation of toilet, only cold water in cell, shower only once a week, bedbugs, no proper ventilation in the cell
bedbugs
no proper separation of toilet, only cold water in cell, shower only once a week, bedbugs, no proper ventilation in the cell
17,800
300
56362/12
24/08/2012
László Csaba VÉTEK
05/03/1979
Karsai Dániel András
Budapest
Budapest Prison "A" Block
27/12/2011 to
23/01/2012
0 year(s) and 1 month(s)
Budapest Prison "B" Block
23/01/2012 to
01/06/2012
0 year(s) and 5 month(s)
Budapest Prison "A" Block
01/06/2012
pending
3 year(s) and 4 month(s)
2,6 m²
3,25 m²
3 m²
no proper separation of toilet, only cold water in cell
no proper separation of toilet, only cold water in cell
no proper separation of toilet, only cold water in cell
13,500
300
56368/12
27/08/2012
István MEGYERI
11/10/1974
Állampuszta Prison
10/06/2008 to
15/11/2010
2 year(s) and 6 month(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "B"
15/11/2010 to
01/06/2012
1 year(s) and 7 month(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "A"
01/06/2012
pending
3 year(s) and 4 month(s)
2.8 m²
2.8 m²
2.6 m²
only cold water in cell, bedbugs, cockroaches
only cold water in cell, bedbugs, cockroaches
only cold water in cell, bedbugs, cockroaches, no proper separation of toilet
24,300
58632/12
06/09/2012
Kálmán GULYÁS
01/04/1968
Budapest Prison, Block "B"
22/07/2011 to
20/11/2011
0 year(s) and 4 month(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "A"
20/11/2011 to
11/10/2013
1 year(s) and 11 month(s)
3.2 m²
2.6 m²
no proper separation of toilet
8,800
72055/12
26/10/2012
Sándor CSEMER
07/06/1981
Fahidi Gergely
Budapest
Budapest Correctional Facility, Block III. ("Maglódi/Venyige")
23/04/2009 to
23/07/2009
0 year(s) and 4 month(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "A"
23/07/2009 to
18/02/2011
1 year(s) and 7 month(s)
Baracska Prison
18/02/2011 to
10/07/2011
0 year(s) and 5 month(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "B"
11/08/2011
pending
4 year(s) and 1 month(s)
3.75 m²
2.6 m²
2.9 m²
3.1 m²
shower only once a week, bedbugs
no proper separation of toilet, shower only once a week, cockroaches, bedbugs
shower only once a week, cockroaches, bedbugs
bedbugs, only cold water in cell
21,300
300
73195/12
09/11/2012
Péter SZABÓ
04/03/1975
Budapest Prison
21/09/2010 to
16/12/2013
3 year(s) and 3 month(s)
2.7 m²
no proper separation of toilet, shower only once a week, only cold water in cell
11,800
76492/12
20/11/2012
Elemér SZTOJKA-BIHARI
20/09/1966
Baracska Prison
06/08/2008 to
10/12/2014
6 year(s) and 5 month(s)
2 m²
21,300
79146/12
04/12/2012
Krisztián GÁL
12/05/1975
Fahidi Gergely
Budapest
Budapest Correctional Facility, Block I. ("Nagy Ignác/Markó"), Vác Prison and Budapest Prison
21/01/2012 to
01/04/2014
2 year(s) and 3 month(s)
Budapest Correctional Facility, Block I. ("Nagy Ignác/Markó")
09/04/2014 to
05/05/2014
0 year(s) and 1 month(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "B"
05/05/2014
pending
1 year(s) and 5 month(s)
3.2 m²
2.3 m²
2.7 m²
no proper separation of toilet, shower only once a week, cockroaches
shower only once a week, cockroaches
13,300
300
[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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