FIFTH SECTION
CASE OF RUD AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE
(Applications nos. 39701/12 and 9 others –
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
24 February 2022
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Rud and Others v. Ukraine,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Lətif Hüseynov, President,
Lado Chanturia,
Arnfinn Bårdsen, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 3 February 2022,
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. They 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, which read as follows:
Article 3
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Article 13
“Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in this Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority ...”
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, as described in the appended table, 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. In applications nos. 2579/21 and 11195/21 the applicants also complained of the excessive length of criminal proceedings and of the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in that regard. 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 Nechay v. Ukraine (no. 15360/10, 1 July 2021).
REMAINING COMPLAINTS13. In application no. 39701/12 the applicant also raised other complaints under various Articles of the Convention and in application no. 9560/21 the applicant complained under Article 3 of the Convention about inadequate conditions of his detention prior to 7 November 2019.
14. 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, they 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 two applications must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention.
APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION15. 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.”
16. 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. It rejects any additional claims for just satisfaction raised by the applicant in application no. 39701/12.
17. 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, as described in the appended table, the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law to complain about poor detention conditions and the other complaints under well-established case-law of the Court, as set out in the appended table, admissible and the remainder of applications nos. 39701/12 and 9560/21 inadmissible;Holds that these complaints 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 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;
Dismisses the remainder of the applicant’s claims for just satisfaction in application no. 39701/12.Done in English, and notified in writing on 24 February 2022, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Lətif Hüseynov
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Articles 3 and 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 and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1]
39701/12
21/06/2012
Aleksey Vladimirovich RUD
1982
Kononenko Valeriy Petrovich
Kharkiv
Kharkiv Pre-Trial Detention Facility no. 27
10/01/2012 to
09/11/2012
10 months
2.9-4.3 m²
Overcrowding (up to seven inmates in three-bed cells), lack of ventilation, poor heating and thermal insulation, poor sanitary conditions, mould on walls, damp, foul odour, extreme heat in summer and cold in winter
2,600
84/21
20/11/2020
Vadym Borysovych KARPENKO
1992
Vavrenyuk Oleksandr Volodymyrovych
Pyatykhatky
Cherkasy Pre-Trial Detention Facility
17/05/2019 to
12/02/2021
1 year and 8 months and 27 days
1.9 - 2.4 m²
Lack of toiletries, no or restricted access to shower, poor quality of food, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, overcrowding
4,400
2579/21
21/12/2020
Yevgen Yuriyovych YAKYMCHUK
1979
Kulbach Sergiy Oleksandrovych
Limoges
Kyiv Pre-Trial Detention Facility
20/06/2019
Pending
More than 2 years and 6 months and 26 days
2.5 - 2.6 m²
Overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to shower, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to warm water
Art. 6 (1) - excessive length of criminal proceedings - 21/10/2014 - 24/02/2021, 6 years and 4 months before three levels of jurisdiction,
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of excessive length of criminal proceedings
7,700
8999/21
28/01/2021
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych VOLKOV
1985
Vavrenyuk Oleksandr Volodymyrovych
Pyatykhatky
Vinnytsya Detention Facility
30/09/2016 to
14/04/2021
4 years and 6 months and 16 days
2.3 - 2.8 m²
Lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, 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 food
7,500
9560/21
28/01/2021
Ruslan Petrovych SHVETS
1981
Vavrenyuk Oleksandr Volodymyrovych
Pyatykhatky
Vinnytsya Penitentiary Facility
07/11/2019 to
05/04/2021
1 year and 4 months and 30 days
2.5 - 2.8 m²
Overcrowding, passive smoking, lack of fresh air, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light
3,800
9571/21
28/01/2021
Igor Yuriyovych SHVETS
1993
Vavrenyuk Oleksandr Volodymyrovych
Pyatykhatky
Vinnytsya Penitentiary Facility
01/12/2015 to
20/05/2021
5 years and 5 months and 20 days
2.6 m²
Lack of fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of toiletries, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, passive smoking, overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to warm water
7,500
10602/21
10/02/2021
Anatoliy Anatoliyovych BONDARENKO
1989
Pustyntsev Andriy Vitaliyovych
Dnipro
Mykolaiv Pre-Trial Detention Facility
25/05/2017 to
22/01/2021
3 years and 7 months and 29 days
2.76 m²
Overcrowding, lack of fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to shower, passive smoking, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries
7,500
11195/21
10/02/2021
Dmytro Volodymyrovych VASKOV
1990
Pustyntsev Andriy Vitaliyovych
Dnipro
Mykolaiv Pre-Trial Detention Facility
11/12/2015
Pending
More than 6 years and 1 month and 4 days
2.5 - 5.4 m²
Overcrowding, lack of fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient electric light, passive smoking, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of toiletries, lack of privacy for toilet
Art. 6 (1) - excessive length of criminal proceedings - from 09/12/2015 - pending, one level of jurisdiction,
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of excessive length of criminal proceedings
9,800
18447/21
02/04/2021
Yevgen Mykhaylovych SUBOTIN
1981
Kulbach Sergiy Oleksandrovych
Limoges
Kyiv Pre-Trial Detention Facility
24/03/2020
Pending
More than 1 year and 9 months and 22 days
2.5 – 2.9 m²
Lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food, passive smoking, overcrowding, no or restricted access to shower, poor quality of potable water, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of toiletries, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, no or restricted access to warm water
4,600
20169/21
07/04/2021
Zakhar Igorovych YURKEVYCH
1994
Kulbach Sergiy Oleksandrovych
Limoges
Kyiv Pre-Trial Detention Facility
23/01/2019 to
26/01/2021
2 years and 4 days
2.5 - 2.9 m²
Overcrowding, no or restricted access to shower, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, poor quality of potable water, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, passive smoking, lack of fresh air, lack of privacy for toilet
5,000
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.