FOURTH SECTION
CASE OF CUNHA CASACA v. PORTUGAL
(Application no. 17761/22)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
6 July 2023
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Cunha Casaca v. Portugal,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Tim Eicke, President,
Branko Lubarda,
Ana Maria Guerra Martins, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 15 June 2023,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
1. The case originated in an application against Portugal lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on 1 April 2022.
2. The applicant was represented by Mr V. Carreto, a lawyer practising in Torres Vedras.
3. The Portuguese Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the application.
THE FACTS
4. The applicant’s details and information relevant to the application are set out in the appended table.
5. The applicant complained under Article 3 of the Convention of the inadequate conditions of his detention. He also raised a complaint under Article 13 of the Convention.
THE LAW
THE GOVERNMENT’S REQUEST TO STRIKE OUT the APPLICATION UNDER ARTICLE 37 § 1 OF THE CONVENTION6. The Government submitted a unilateral declaration which did not offer a sufficient basis for finding that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention does not require the Court to continue its examination of the case (Article 37 § 1 in fine). The Court rejects the Government’s request to strike the application out and will accordingly pursue its examination of the case (see Tahsin Acar v. Turkey (preliminary objections) [GC], no.26307/95, § 75, ECHR 2003 VI).
ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 3 OF THE CONVENTION7. The applicant complained principally of the inadequate conditions of his detention. He relied on Article 3 of the Convention.
8. The Court notes that the applicant was kept in detention in poor conditions. The details of the applicant’s 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, Muršić v. Croatia [GC], no. 7334/13, §§ 96‑101, ECHR 2016). It reiterates in particular that a serious lack of space in a prison cell weighs heavily as a factor to be taken into account for the purpose of establishing whether the detention conditions described are “degrading” from the point of view of Article 3 and may disclose a violation, both alone or taken together with other shortcomings (see Muršić, cited above, §§ 122-41, and Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 149‑59, 10 January 2012).
9. In the leading case of Petrescu v. Portugal (no. 23190/17, 3 December 2019), the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.
10. 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 applicant’s conditions of detention were inadequate.
11. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.
ALLEGED VIOLATION of article 13 of the convention12. The applicant further complained of a lack of an effective remedy in respect of his complaints under Article 3 of the Convention, which also raised an issue under Article 13 of the Convention, given the relevant well‑established case‑law of the Court. This complaint is not manifestly ill‑founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention, nor is it inadmissible on any other ground. Accordingly, it must be declared admissible. Having examined all the material before it, the Court concludes that it also discloses a violation of the Convention in the light of its findings in Petrescu (cited above, §§ 75-84), concerning the lack of an effective remedy to complain about poor conditions of detention.
APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION13. 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.”
14. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Muršić, cited above, §§ 181 and 184), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,
Rejects the Government’s request to strike the application out of its list of cases under Article 37 § 1 of the Convention on the basis of the unilateral declaration which they submitted;Declares the application admissible;Holds that this application discloses a breach of Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention;Holds that this application discloses a breach of the Article 13 of the Convention as regards the lack of an effective remedy to complain about inadequate conditions of detention;Holds(a) that the respondent State is to pay the applicant, within three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table;
(b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amount 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 6 July 2023, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Tim Eicke
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
Application raising complaints under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention
(inadequate conditions of detention and lack of an effective remedy in this respect)
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Year of birth
Representative’s name and location
Facility
Start and end date
Duration
Sq. m per inmate
Specific grievances
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage per applicant
(in euros)[1]
Amount awarded for costs and expenses per application
(in euros)[2]
17761/22
01/04/2022
Hugo Filipe CUNHA CASACA
1986
Vítor Carreto
Torres Vedras
Coimbra Prison
10/01/2022
pending
More than 1 year and 3 months and 15 days
2 inmates
2.55 m²
1 toilet
overcrowding, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, lack of privacy
10,800
250
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant.
[2] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant.