FOURTH SECTION
CASE OF LASCĂU AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA
(Applications nos. 36701/15 and 10 others -
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
14 June 2018
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Lascău and Others v. Romania,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Vincent A. De Gaetano, President,
Georges Ravarani,
Marko Bošnjak, judges,
and Liv Tigerstedt, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 24 May 2018,
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 applications were communicated to the Romanian Government (“the Government”).
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 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 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. In application no. 49850/15, the Government raised a preliminary objection of non-compliance with the six-month time-limit, claiming that the applicant’s complaint regarding the inadequate conditions of detention during transport on 17 March 2015 was lodged out of time.
8. The Court observes that the applicant was transported from his place of residence in Suceava to a court hearing in Alba-Iulia on 17 March 2015, before being placed in detention on 18 March 2015 in Alba County Police Arrest. The Court further observes that the applicant’s complaint concerning the inadequate conditions of detention during his transport was lodged with the Court on 2 October 2015, that is, more than six months later.
9. Therefore, the Court accepts the Government’s objection and finds that this complaint was lodged outside the six-month time-limit and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 1 and 4 of the Convention.
10. 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, as well as the Government’s objection concerning the application of the six-month rule to the continuous situation of the applicant’s conditions of detention in case no. 38602/16, 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.
13. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.
III. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
14. 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.”
15. 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.
16. 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 complaints concerning the inadequate conditions of detention, as set out in the appended table, admissible and the remainder of the application no. 49850/15, concerning the inadequate conditions of detention during transport, inadmissible;
3. Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention;
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 14 June 2018, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Liv TigerstedtVincent A. De Gaetano
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 name
Date of birth
Representative name and location
Facility
Start and end date
Duration
Sq. m. per inmate
Specific grievances
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant
(in euros)[1]
36701/15
01/09/2015
Ioan Lascău
11/06/1956
Rahova Prison
03/09/2013 to
27/06/2014
9 months and 25 days
Satu Mare Prison
15/07/2014 to
26/06/2015
11 months and 12 days
2.44 m²
1.43-2.58 m²
overcrowding (save for the period of 03/09/2013-24/09/2013), mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of toiletries, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, passive smoking
overcrowding, poor quality of food, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, bunk beds, inadequate temperature
3,000
49842/15
02/10/2015
Robert Scorobohaci
25/09/1990
Ionel Andrișan
Rădăuţi
Alba County Police Arrest
27/03/2015 to
26/07/2015
4 months
4.2-4.8 m²
lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, insufficient out-of-cell space, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of dining facilities
1,000
49850/15
02/10/2015
Andy-Ștefan Scorobohaci
23/12/1984
Ionel Andrișan
Rădăuţi
Alba County Police Arrest
18/03/2015 to
18/05/2015
2 months and 1 day
4.02-4.8 m²
lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, insufficient out-of-cell space, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to shower, lack of dining facilities
1,000
60129/15
29/12/2015
Tudor Oprea
23/04/1983
Craiova Prison
13/09/2013
pending
More than 4 years and
7 months and 14 days
0.93-2.93 m²
overcrowding, poor quality of food, infestation of cell with insects/rodents
3,000
60874/15
04/01/2016
Florin-Daniel Mereuţă
14/03/1981
Ovidiu Chiriac
Braşov
Miercurea Ciuc Prison
24/11/2014
pending
More than 3 years and
5 months and 3 days
1.28-1.72 m²
overcrowding, poor quality of food, small courtyard, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or insufficient natural light
3,000
60922/15
30/12/2015
Ioan Maxian
07/01/1962
Bistriţa Prison
10/10/2014 to
03/11/2014
25 days
Gherla Prison
03/11/2014
pending
More than 3 years and
5 months and 24 days
2.74-2.91 m²
poor quality of food, small courtyard, lack of or insufficient natural light
overcrowding, lack of fresh air, poor quality of food, small courtyard
3,000
61723/15
14/01/2016
Gavrilă Hotico
15/03/1978
Maramureş County Police Arrest, Gherla Prison
04/01/2014
pending
More than 4 years and
3 months and 22 days
1.72-2.58 m²
overcrowding
3,000
1411/16
22/01/2016
Laurențiu-Anton-Florin Giurgiu
11/07/1985
Rahova Prison, Gherla Prison
15/07/2015
pending
More than 2 years and
9 months and 13 days
1.72-2.26 m²
overcrowding
3,000
5185/16
16/01/2016
Vasile Bercea
15/10/1979
Bucharest Police Section no. 4, Rahova Prison
12/03/2015
pending
More than 3 years and
1 month and 16 days
1.95-2.44 m²
overcrowding (save for the period starting 26/10/2015 and onward), lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents
3,000
29066/16
19/07/2016
Ion Drăghiciu
01/02/1956
Bucharest Central Arrest, Mărgineni Prison
24/01/2014
pending
More than 4 years and
3 months and 3 days
1.43-2.50 m²
overcrowding, poor quality of food, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, inadequate courtyard, bunk beds
3,000
38602/16
04/08/2016
Ilie-Marin Crăciun
19/08/1978
Jilava Prison, Gherla Prison, Rahova Prison, Giurgiu Prison
15/06/2007
pending
More than 10 years and 9 months and 9 days
1.50 - 2.80 m²
Overcrowding (save for the periods of 01/08/2007-22/08/2007, 19/02/2012-10/07/2012, 16/07/2012-13/10/2012, 14/10/2014-26/11/2014, 02/03/2015-16/03/2015, 19/03/2015-21/08/2015, 03/05/2016-25/05/2016, 13/06/2016-13/09/2016, 29/09/2016-onward), lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, inadequate courtyards, poor quality of food, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack or inadequate furniture, bunk beds
5,000
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
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