FOURTH SECTION
CASE OF MIHALACHE AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA
(Application no. 63417/16 and 9 others
– see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
12 January 2023
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Mihalache and Others v. Romania,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Armen Harutyunyan, President,
Anja Seibert-Fohr,
Ana Maria Guerra Martins, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 8 December 2022,
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 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 ARTICLE 3 OF THE CONVENTION6. The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of their detention. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows:
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
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 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.
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. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.
REMAINING COMPLAINTS11. In applications nos. 64845/16, 72825/16 and 78814/16, the applicants also raised other complaints under Article 3 of the Convention.
12. The Court has examined the applications listed in the appended table 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 either do not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention or do not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Convention or the Protocols thereto.
It follows that this part of the applications must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention.
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, Rezmiveș and Others, cited above), 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 complaints concerning the inadequate conditions of detention, for the periods 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;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 12 January 2023, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Armen Harutyunyan
Acting Deputy Registrar President
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
Representative’s name and location
Facility
Start and end date
Duration
Sq. m per inmate
Specific grievances
Domestic compensation awarded (in days) based on total period calculated by national authorities
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant
(in euros)[1]
63417/16
25/11/2016
Robert MIHALACHE
1979
Bacău, Vaslui and Găeşti Prisons
15/01/2016 to
04/10/2017
1 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 20 day(s)
1,63 - 2,86 m²
overcrowding (save for the period between 14/09/2016-04/10/2017), mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities etc.
–
3,000
64845/16
07/12/2016
Remus GHIŢĂ
1970
Jilava and Găești Prisons
10/04/2015 to
13/06/2017
2 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 4 day(s)
1,34 - 2,78 m²
overcrowding (save for the periods between 03/07/2015-09/09/2015, 05/08/2016-12/08/2016, and on 05/09/2016), bunk beds, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of privacy for toilet etc.
–
3,000
66042/16
07/02/2017
Ion STANCU
1968
Cândea Claudia Nadina Daciana
Timișoara
Timişoara and Arad Prisons, Mioveni (Colibaşi) Prison Hospital
20/06/2007 to
04/01/2017
9 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 16 day(s)
1,59 - 2,55 m²
overcrowding (save for the periods between 15/08/2008-04/03/2010, 19/03/2010-16/07/2012, 10/08/2012-29/07/2013, 28/10/2013-07/11/2013, 15/05/2014-21/05/2014, 15/09/2014-22/09/2014, and 22/05/2015-28/05/2015), constant electric light, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities etc.
–
5,000
66477/16
19/12/2016
Bogdan-Gheorghe NASTA
1990
Târgu-Jiu Prison
25/03/2016 to
22/08/2017
1 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 29 day(s)
1,45 – 2,34 m²
overcrowding, bunk beds, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, mouldy or dirty cell, lack or inadequate furniture, infestation of cell with insects/rodents etc.
–
3,000
72825/16
23/11/2016
Costache PĂDURARU
1976
Mărgărit Ionela
Bucharest
Brăila Prison, Târgu Ocna Prison Hospital
15/04/2016 to
03/05/2017
1 year(s) and 19 day(s)
2,71 - 2,75 m²
overcrowding (save for the periods between 15/04/2016-01/08/2016 and 08/11/2016-25/01/2017), bunk beds, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to warm water etc.
–
3,000
78814/16
04/01/2017
Costin-Adrian SECARĂ
1989
Iaşi and Botoşani Prisons
25/03/2016 to
12/04/2017
1 year(s) and 19 day(s)
1,28 - 2,85 m²
overcrowding (save for the period between 25/03/2016-14/04/2016 and 21/04/2016-09/06/2016), lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack or inadequate furniture, poor quality of food etc.
–
3,000
2048/17
27/06/2017
Octavian TOMA
1960
Cândea Claudia Nadina Daciana
Timișoara
Timişoara Prison
10/02/2016 to
01/02/2017
11 month(s) and 23 day(s)
1,83 - 2,5 m²
overcrowding, absence of an alarm system in the cell, constant electric light, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities etc.
–
1,000
22119/17
20/12/2017
Vasile NIŢU
1970
Bucharest General Police Inspectorate; Jilava, Rahova, Slobozia, Dâmbovița (Mărgineni), Poarta Albă, Giurgiu and Galați Prisons; Jilava and Poarta Albă Prison Hospitals
20/11/2005 to
23/07/2012
6 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 4 day(s)
1,2 - 2,9 m²
overcrowding (save for the periods between 15/01/2009-26/01/2009, 02/02/2009-23/02/2009, 14/09/2009-08/10/2009, 01/03/2010-10/03/2010, 20/10/2010-28/10/2010, 16/12/2010-21/03/2011, and 25/06/2012-12/07/2012), bunk beds, insufficient number of sleeping places, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to warm water etc.
–
5,000
22632/17
12/07/2017
Bogdan Marius NICOLESCU
1987
Bucharest Police Station no. 7; Rahova Prison
24/07/2013 to
26/06/2017
3 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 3 day(s)
1.93 - 2.79 m²
overcrowding (save for the periods between 05/05/2014-01/06/2014, 01/07/2014-30/10/2015, 01/03/2016-01/06/2016, and 02/09/2016-09/05/2017), lack or inadequate furniture, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen etc.
–
3,000
32870/17
07/07/2017
Adrian MARIN
1981
Mărgărit Ionela
Bucharest
Giurgiu, Drobeta Turnu Severin and Jilava Prisons; Jilava Prison Hospital
28/06/2014 to
11/04/2017
2 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 15 day(s)
1,48 - 2,90 m²
overcrowding (save for the periods between 18/08/2014-20/08/2014 and 07/12/2015-10/12/2015), no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen etc.
–
3,000
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.