FOURTH SECTION
CASE OF FULGA AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA
(Application no. 57392/15 and 9 others
– see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
22 July 2021
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Fulga and Others v. Romania,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Armen Harutyunyan, President,
Jolien Schukking,
Ana Maria Guerra Martins, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 1 July 2021,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
1. The case originated in applications against Romania 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 Romanian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the applications.
THE FACTS
3. The list of applicants 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.
THE LAWJOINDER 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.ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 3 OF THE CONVENTION
6. The applicants complained of the inadequate conditions of their detention. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows:
Article 3
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
7. The Government raised a preliminary objection concerning the applicants’ loss of victim status for the periods of detention specified in the appended table because they were afforded adequate redress based on Law no. 169/2017 amending and completing Law no. 254/2013 on the execution of sentences for those specific periods of detention.
8. The Court notes that the domestic remedy introduced in respect of inadequate conditions of detention in Romania and applicable until December 2019 was held to be an effective one in the case of Dîrjan and Ştefan v. Romania ((dec.), nos. 14224/15 and 50977/15, §§ 23-33, 15 April 2020). This remedy was available to the applicants in the present applications and they were, indeed, afforded adequate redress for certain periods of detention (for details see the appended table).
9. Therefore, the Court accepts the Government’s objection and finds that these parts of the applications 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.
10. Turning to the remaining periods of the applicants’ detention as specified in the appended table, 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, 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 ‑141, and Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 149‑159, 10 January 2012).
11. In the leading case of Rezmiveș and Others v. Romania, nos. 61467/12 and 3 others, 25 April 2017, the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.
12. 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, for the periods specified in the appended table, were inadequate.
13. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.REMAINING COMPLAINTS
14. In applications nos. 9211/16, 20610/16, 21220/16, 21284/16, 23359/16 and 33804/16, the applicants also raised complaints under Article 3 of the Convention in relation to periods of detention preceding the start date specified in the appended table.
15. 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 do not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Article 35 § 1 of the Convention as they were lodged outside the six-month time-limit.
It follows that these parts of the above-mentioned applications must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention.APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
16. 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.”
17. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Rezmiveș and Others v. Romania, nos. 61467/12 and 3 others, 25 April 2017), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.
18. 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,Decides to join the applications;Declares the complaints concerning the inadequate conditions of detention, as specified in the appended table, admissible, and the remainder of the applications inadmissible;Holds that these complaints disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention for the periods, specified in the appended table below;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 22 July 2021, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya MaradudinaArmen Harutyunyan
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
Year of birth
Facility
Start and end date
Duration
Sq. m per inmate
Specific grievances
Domestic compensation awarded
(in days)
based on total period calculated domestically
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant
(in euros)[1]
57392/15
16/09/2016
Cătălin-Ionuț FULGA
1986
Vaslui Prison
12/11/2012 to
05/12/2012
24 days
Dej Prison Hospital
17/08/2016 to
12/09/2016
27 days
2-2.4 m²
<3 m²
overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food
480 days in compensation
for a total period of
detention spent in
inadequate conditions from 06/12/2012 to 10/12/2019, except for the period referred to in Column no. 4.
1,000
9211/16
15/04/2016
Ionel-Lucian RĂDIȚĂ
1975
Giurgiu Prison
20/06/2011 to
23/07/2012
1 year and 1 month and 4 days
2.5 m²
overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to shower, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, lack or inadequate furniture, no or restricted access to potable water, inadequate temperature
438 days in compensation
for a total period of
detention spent in
inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 13/09/2018
3,000
19079/16
06/07/2016
Marian FILISANU
1975
Jilava, Giurgiu, Mărgineni and Rahova Prisons
21/05/2008 to
23/07/2012
4 years and 2 months and 3 days
0.8-2.8 m²
overcrowding, bunk beds, insects, inadequate sanitary facilities, poor quality of bedding, dirty and mouldy cell, poor quality of food
534 days in compensation
for a total period of
detention spent in
inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 12/12/2019
3,000
20610/16
18/05/2016
Petru TUDURACHI
1979
Codlea Prison
24/12/2019 to
02/02/2020
1 month and 10 days
2.33 m²
overcrowding, lack or inadequate furniture, overcrowding, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of toiletries
540 days in compensation
for a total period of
detention spent in
inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 23/12/2019
1,000
21220/16
20/05/2016
Petru NECHIFOR
1974
Timișoara Prison
24/12/2019
pending
More than 1 year and 5 months and 16 days
2.15 m²
overcrowding, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack or inadequate furniture, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to running water, poor quality of food
516 days in compensation
for a total period of
detention spent in
inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 23/12/2019
3,000
21284/16
13/05/2016
Aurel LEUCĂ
1965
Craiova, Gherla and Arad Prisons
14/05/2003 to
23/07/2012
9 years and 2 months and 10 days
Bistrița Prison
11/12/2019
pending
More than 1 year and 5 months and 29 days
2-2.5 m²
overcrowding, bunk beds, inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of fresh air, lack or inadequate furniture, poor quality of food, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, no or restricted access to potable water
528 days in compensation
for a total period of
detention spent in
inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 10/12/2019
5,000
23359/16
16/05/2016
Dănuț-Gabi AZAMFIREI
1970
Rahova Prison
11/12/2019
pending
More than 1 year and 5 months and 29 days
2.4 m²
overcrowding, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, poor quality of food
498 days in compensation
for a total period of
detention spent in
inadequate conditions from 24/12/2012 to 10/12/2019
3,000
33804/16
08/06/2016
Florin HULEI
1979
Arad Prison
23/07/2015 to
15/05/2021
5 years and 9 months and 23 days
no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to shower, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food, bunk beds, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of toiletries
204 days in compensation
for a total period of
detention spent in
inadequate conditions from 27/07/2012 to 22/07/2015
5,000
53336/16
08/11/2016
Teodor-Gabriel IOSIF
1980
Arad Prison
18/02/2017 to
11/05/2017
2 months and 24 days
Arad Prison
26/05/2017 to
22/02/2018
8 months and 28 days
Arad Prison
08/03/2018
pending
More than 3 years and 3 months and 1 day
poor quality of food, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air
114 days in compensation
for a total period of
detention spent in
inadequate conditions from 27/07/2015 to 19/12/2019, with the exception of the periods referred to in Column no. 4.
3,000
53401/16
08/02/2017
Petru-Lucian NEGREA
1982
Bistriţa Police, Bucharest General Police Inspectorate, Bistriţa, Rahova, Giurgiu and Gherla Prisons and Jilava Prison Hospital
15/10/2008 to
23/07/2012
3 years and 9 months and 9 days
Gherla Prison
24/12/2019
pending
More than 1 year and 5 months and 16 days
1.51-2.65 m²
overcrowding (except for 06-15/10/2009, 03-13/09/2010, 24-31/08/2011; 27-30/01/2012 and 19-25/06/2012), no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to potable water, lack or inadequate furniture, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air
528 days in compensation
for a total period of
detention spent in
inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 23/12/2019
5,000
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
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