FOURTH SECTION
CASE OF MUCĂLĂU AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA
(Application no. 39040/16 and 13 others –
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
16 December 2021
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Mucălău 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 25 November 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 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:
Article 3
“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 and the arguments submitted by the parties, including the Government’s objections related to the non-exhaustion of domestic remedies, 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 (including its findings in the recent case of Polgar v. Romania, no. 39412/19, §§ 94-97, 20 July 2021), the Court considers that in the instant case the applicants’ conditions of detention, as described in the appended table below, were inadequate.
10. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.
REMAINING COMPLAINTS11. In applications nos. 48597/16, 48616/16 and 49008/16 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, and Polgar, both cited above), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.
15. The Court further 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, 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 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 16 December 2021, 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
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant
(in euros) [1]
39040/16
05/08/2016
Dragoș Ionuț MUCĂLĂU
1995
Colibași (Mioveni), Craiova, Drobeta Turnu Severin and Târgu-Jiu Prisons
25/06/2013 to
28/11/2016
3 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 4 day(s)
1.53 - 2.89 m²
overcrowding (except for 25/07/2013 - 16/10/2013; 19/12/2013 - 03/02/2014; 27/03/2014 -14/04/2014; 19/05/2016 - 30/07/2016), lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, mouldy or dirty cell, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of toiletries, no or restricted access to shower, lack of privacy for toilet, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to potable water, poor quality of potable water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, bunk beds, no or insufficient disinfection of barbering and haircutting tools, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease
3,000
39227/16
16/08/2016
Gheorghe-Daniel BULAT
1986
Dolj County Police Station, Craiova -Pelendava and Drobeta-Turnu Severin Prisons
12/02/2015 to 06/04/2016 1 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 26 day(s)
1.30-2.79 m²
overcrowding (except for 22/07/2015 - 15/02/2016), inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, passive smoking
3,000
39580/16
08/09/2016
Cătălin LIȚĂ
1978
Dolj County Police Station, Craiova-Pelendava and Târgu-Jiu Prisons
04/10/2013 to 26/01/2017 3 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 23 day(s)
1.26 - 2.64 m²
overcrowding (except for 17/01/2014 -29/01/2014; 26/03/2014 - 23/10/2014; 24/09/2015 - 01/02/2016), no or restricted access to shower, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to potable water, poor quality of potable water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack or inadequate furniture
3,000
46824/16
15/02/2017
Ianoș SZEKELY
1973
Alexandru Mitreanu
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca County Police Station; Gherla, Bistrița-Năsăud, Cluj-Napoca, Deva and Jilava Prisons, Dej and Jilava Prison Hospitals
21/10/2001 to 01/11/2016
15 year(s) and 12 day(s)
1.15 - 2.94 m²
overcrowding (except for 10/08/2015 -11/08/2015), lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, mouldy or dirty cell, applicant transported on numerous occasions, lack of fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, no or restricted access to running water, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack or inadequate furniture, no or restricted access to toilet
5,000
47014/16
30/07/2016
Samuel-Viorel GOJE
1991
Bucharest Police detention facility no. 1, Rahova Prison
18/10/2012 to
10/06/2013
7 month(s) and 24 day(s)
Rahova and Jilava Prisons
13/06/2013 to
04/08/2015
2 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 23 day(s)
Rahova and Jilava Prisons
07/08/2015 to
24/05/2016
9 month(s) and 18 day(s)
1.75 - 2.79 m²
1.72 - 2.79 m²
1.72 - 2.79 m²
overcrowding (except for 09/04/2013 -15/05/2013; 07/02/2014 - 28/04/2014; 17/06/2014 - 19/06/2014), lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to running water, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, inadequate temperature, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack or inadequate furniture
3,000
47445/16
26/09/2016
Floricică COT
1982
Galați, Brăila and Tulcea Prisons
12/11/2013 to
28/02/2017
3 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 17 day(s)
1.19 - 2.01 m²
overcrowding, bunk beds, lack of fresh air, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to toilet, poor quality of potable water, poor quality of food, mouldy or dirty cell, no or insufficient disinfection of barbering and haircutting tools, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities
3,000
48489/16
01/11/2016
Adrian MOLDOVAN
1985
Cluj-Napoca County Police Station, Gherla and Baia Mare Prisons
02/08/2015 to
30/05/2016
9 month(s) and 29 day(s)
Baia Mare and Bistrița-Năsăud Prisons
14/06/2016 to 14/02/2017
8 month(s) and 1 day(s)
1.20 - 2.58 m²
1.20 - 2.58 m²
overcrowding (except for 19/01/2016-22/01/2016), no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to running water, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, constant electric light, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to shower, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack or inadequate furniture
3,000
48597/16
01/08/2016
Cristian-Laurențiu DRĂGOI
1976
Câmpina County Police Station, Mărgineni and Ploiești Prisons
05/06/2015 to
20/01/2017
1 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 16 day(s)
1.19 - 1.34 m²
overcrowding, lack of fresh air, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, poor quality of food, bunk beds, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to shower, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, overcrowding, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet
3,000
48616/16
05/08/2016
Petru VELEȘCU
1957
Irina Iacob
Iași
Iași County Police Station
15/12/2015 to
06/02/2016
1 month(s) and 23 day(s)
3 m²
infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, poor quality of food, lack or inadequate furniture, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient quantity of food
1,000
49008/16
20/10/2016
Aurelian LAZĂR
1990
Andreea-Gabriela Cadar
Galați
Slobozia, Constanța Poarta Albă Prisons
03/10/2014 to
07/02/2017
2 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 5 day(s)
1.73 - 2.82 m²
overcrowding, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food, poor quality of potable water, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient electric light, bunk beds, mouldy or dirty cell, no or insufficient disinfection of barbering and haircutting tools, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of toiletries
3,000
58395/16
01/11/2016
Valentin CHICIN
1989
Arad County Police Station, Arad and Aiud Prisons
23/01/2012 to
25/10/2016
4 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 3 day(s)
1.55 -3 m²
overcrowding (except for 28/03/2012 - 11/07/2012 and 20/07/2012 - 25/10/2016), lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient electric light, passive smoking, inadequate temperature, lack or inadequate furniture, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, no or insufficient disinfection of barbering and haircutting tools, no or restricted access to warm water
3,000
59254/16
17/05/2017
Daniel DUȘU
1988
Andreea-Gabriela Cadar
Galati
Constanța Poarta Albă Prison
08/05/2012 to 10/05/2012
3 day(s)
Constanța Poarta Albă and Rahova Prisons
15/05/2012 to 20/01/2015
2 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 6 day(s)
Constanța Poarta Albă Prison
23/01/2015 to
21/11/2016
1 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 30 day(s)
1.56 - 2.68 m²
1.56 - 2.68 m²
1.56 - 2.68 m²
overcrowding, bunk beds, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack or inadequate furniture, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to running water, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or insufficient disinfection of barbering and haircutting tools, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities, poor quality of food, poor quality of potable water
3,000
60836/16
08/11/2016
Ionel LOTREA
1956
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Teleorman County Police Station and Giurgiu Prison
07/06/2014 to
17/11/2014
5 month(s) and 11 day(s)
Giurgiu and Jilava Prisons
20/11/2014 to
06/07/2015
7 month(s) and 17 day(s)
Jilava Prison
09/07/2015
19/07/2016
1 year(s) and 11 day(s)
2.80 -2.86 m²
1.99 -
2.86 m²
1.99 - 2.65 m²
overcrowding (except for 01/03/2016 - 02/03/2016), bunk beds, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, insufficient number of sleeping places, 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 toiletries, lack or inadequate furniture, lack or insufficient quantity of food, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to warm water, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of privacy for toilet, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to shower
3,000
67337/16
16/12/2016
Adrian GHIȚĂ
1974
Bucharest Police detention facility no. 1, Rahova, Jilava and Giurgiu Prisons, Colibași and Jilava Prison Hospitals
01/04/2013 to
17/01/2017
3 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 17 day(s)
1.5- 2.8 m²
overcrowding (except for 13/01/2014 - 17/01/2014; 04/09/2014 -08/09/2014; 15/10/2015 - 09/11/2015; 19/01/2016 -21/01/2016), infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient natural light, 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 or inadequate furniture, lack or insufficient quantity of food, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to potable water, bunk beds, lack of or insufficient natural light
3,000
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.