FIFTH SECTION
CASE OF KOLDOBENKO AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE
(Applications nos. 7734/22 and 6 others –
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
11 April 2024
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Koldobenko and Others v. Ukraine,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Mārtiņš Mits, President,
Kateřina Šimáčková,
Mykola Gnatovskyy, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 21 March 2024,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
1. The case originated in applications against Ukraine 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 Ukrainian 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 and of the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law. Some applicants also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention.
THE LAW
JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS5. 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 ARTICLES 3 AND 13 OF THE CONVENTION6. The applicants complained principally 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.
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, 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).
8. In the leading cases of Melnik v. Ukraine (no. 72286/01, 28 March 2006) and Sukachov v. Ukraine (no. 14057/17, 30 January 2020), 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 in respect of these complaints.
11. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention.
OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS UNDER WELL-ESTABLISHED CASE-LAW12. Some applicants submitted other complaints which also raised issues under the Convention, given the relevant well-established case-law of the Court (see appended table). These complaints are not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention, nor are they inadmissible on any other ground. Accordingly, they must be declared admissible. Having examined all the material before it, the Court concludes that they also disclose violations of the Convention in the light of its findings in the cases set out in the appended table.
APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION13. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Sukachov, cited above, §§ 165 and 167), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,
Decides to join the applications;Declares the applications admissible;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 any effective remedy in domestic law;Holds that there has been a violation of the Convention as regards the other complaints raised under the well-established case-law of the Court (see appended table);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 11 April 2024, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Mārtiņš Mits
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Articles 3 and Article 13 of the Convention
(inadequate conditions of detention and lack of any effective remedy in domestic law)
No.
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
Other complaints under well-established case-law
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage per applicant
(in euros)[1]
Amount awarded for costs and expenses per application
(in euros)[2]
7734/22
28/01/2022
Bogdan Arturovych KOLDOBENKO
1993
Pustyntsev Andriy Vitaliyovych
Dnipro
Chernigiv
Pre-Trial Detention Facility
29/05/2020
pending
More than
3 year(s) and
8 month(s) and 29 day(s)
2.5 m²
lack of fresh air, passive smoking, overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient quantity of food
Art. 5 (3) - excessive length of pre-trial detention - 25/05/2020 - pending; fragility and repetitiveness of the reasoning employed by the courts as the case progressed
(see Kharchenko
v. Ukraine,
no. 40107/02, §§ 77-81, 10 February 2011, Ignatov v. Ukraine, 40583/15, §§ 38-42, 15 December 2016),
Art. 5 (5) - lack of, or inadequate compensation, for the violation of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention - no effective right to compensation in domestic legal system for the violations of Article 5 § 3
(see Tymoshenko
v. Ukraine,
no. 49872/11, §§ 286-87, 30 April 2013 and Kotiy v. Ukraine,
no. 28718/09, § 55,
5 March 2015).
9,800
250
52755/22
10/11/2022
Sergiy Oleksandrovych GORCHAKOV
1979
Kulbach Sergiy Oleksandrovych
Limoges
Kyiv Pre-Trial Detention Facility
28/03/2017 to
11/07/2022
5 year(s) and
3 month(s) and 14 day(s)
2.5-2.7 m²
overcrowding, poor quality of potable water, lack of toiletries
7,500
10451/23
28/02/2023
Mykhaylo Isakovych LAFER
1969
Kulbach Sergiy Oleksandrovych
Limoges
Dnipro Detention Facility no. 4
10/02/2022
pending
More than
2 year(s) and 17 day(s)
2.5-3 m²
overcrowding, no or restricted access to shower, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of fresh air, poor quality of potable water, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of toiletries, passive smoking, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of laundry services
Art. 5 (3) - excessive length of pre-trial detention - 01/09/2019 - pending, fragility and repetitiveness of the reasoning employed by the courts as the case progressed, failure to conduct the proceedings diligently leading to excessive length of detention on remand
(see Kharchenko
v. Ukraine,
no. 40107/02, §§ 77-81, 10 February 2011, Ignatov v. Ukraine, 40583/15, §§ 38-42,
15 December 2016);
Art. 6 (1) - excessive length of criminal proceedings - 01/09/2019 - pending, 1 level of jurisdiction (see Nechay
v. Ukraine,
no. 15360/10,
§§ 67-79, 1 July 2021),
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of excessive length of criminal proceedings (see Nechay v. Ukraine,
no. 15360/10,
§§ 67-79, 1 July 2021).
6,400
14517/23
29/03/2023
Sergiy Sergiyovych SYDORENKO
1991
Sosyedko Maksym Oleksandrovych
Kyiv
Dnipro Detention Facility no. 4
22/03/2019
pending
More than
4 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 5 day(s)
2.7-2.9 m²
overcrowding, lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to shower
7,500
20670/23
13/05/2023
Oleksandr Grygorovych SNIGYR
1976
Kulbach Sergiy Oleksandrovych
Limoges
Kyiv Pre-Trial Detention Facility
13/08/2021 to
16/01/2023
1 year(s) and
5 month(s) and 4 day(s)
Kyiv Pre-Trial Detention Facility
10/03/2023
pending
More than
11 month(s) and 17 day(s)
2.5-2.9 m²
2.5-2.9 m²
lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of privacy for toilet, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of potable water, passive smoking, overcrowding, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to shower, lack of toiletries
lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, overcrowding, passive smoking, poor quality of potable water
Art. 6 (1) - excessive length of criminal proceedings - 22/09/2018 - pending, 1 level of jurisdiction (see Nechay
v. Ukraine,
no. 15360/10,
§§ 67-79, 1 July 2021);
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of excessive length of criminal proceedings (see Nechay v. Ukraine,
no. 15360/10,
§§ 67-79, 1 July 2021)
7,300
26613/23
19/06/2023
Svitlana Vyacheslavivna ALEKSANDROVA
1980
Yolkin Andriy Valeriyovych
Kryvyy Rig
Kyiv Pre-Trial Detention Facility
05/09/2016 to
21/02/2023
6 year(s) and
5 month(s) and 17 day(s)
2.5-2.9 m²
overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, passive smoking, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, poor quality of potable water, no or restricted access to running water, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to shower, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of requisite medical assistance, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities
7,500
26872/23
15/06/2023
Oleksandr Vasylyovych KARAZHI
1997
Pustyntsev Andriy Vitaliyovych
Dnipro
Zhytomyr Detention Facility No. 8
15/04/2020
pending
More than
3 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 12 day(s)
2.5 m²
overcrowding, lack of privacy for toilet, passive smoking, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to shower, poor quality of food, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities
7,500
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
[2] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.