FOURTH SECTION
CASE OF TUDOR AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA
(Application no. 52149/16 and 10 others –
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
13 January 2022
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Tudor 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 9 December 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 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 raised by the parties, including the Government’s objection 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, for the periods specified 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. 52149/16, 63817/16, 38017/17 and 458/18 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.
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 admissible, as specified in the appended table, 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 13 January 2022, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
{signature_p_2}
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]
52149/16
24/10/2016
Mihai TUDOR
1985
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Jilava Prison
06/03/2015 to
18/09/2016
1 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 13 day(s)
1.5-2.13 m²
overcrowding, bunk beds, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, inadequate temperature, poor quality of food, lack or inadequate furniture, poor quality of potable water, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities
3,000
53463/16
24/10/2016
Ion VÂNĂTORU
1953
Bucharest Police detention facilities no 6, Jilava Prison Hospital, Rahova, Giurgiu, Colibaşi, Jilava, Târgu-Jiu and Găeşti Prisons, Colibaşi Prison Hospital, Dej Prison Hospital
21/03/2009 to
30/08/2017
8 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 10 day(s)
1.36-2.91 m²
overcrowding (save for 14/04/2010‑13/05/2010, 11‑18/11/2010, 17-24/11/2011, 17‑26/04/2012, 13‑20/08/2012, 04‑09/07/2013, 03/09/2013‑10/10/2013, 07‑10/09/2015, 11/04/2016‑12/05/2016), infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to warm water, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of privacy for toilet, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient electric light, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack of toiletries, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of potable water, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities
5,000
53597/16
20/10/2016
Iulian BELIBROV
1981
Tulcea Prison
26/11/2014 to
22/03/2017
2 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 25 day(s)
1.39-2.5 m²
overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, poor quality of food, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to warm water
3,000
54314/16
29/11/2016
Leonard MARIN
1969
Galaţi, Brăila and Vaslui Prisons
08/07/2016 to
12/09/2017
1 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 5 day(s)
1.33-2.86 m²
overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food
3,000
62851/16
29/11/2016
Florin DAIA
1978
Giurgiu County Police, Giurgiu, Jilava and Găeşti Prisons
06/11/2012 to
19/04/2017
4 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 14 day(s)
1.35-2.89 m²
overcrowding (save for 02‑04/06/2015; 19-23/09/2016), bunk beds, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, poor quality of potable water, mouldy or dirty cell, inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to shower
3,000
63149/16
15/12/2016
Gigel MARIN
1972
Bucharest Central Arrest, Rahova, Mărgineni, Ploieşti, Jilava and Găeşti Prisons; Jilava, Dej and Mioveni Hospital Prisons
04/02/2013 to
21/06/2017
4 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 18 day(s)
1.37-2.8 m²
overcrowding (save for 17/11/2014‑09/12/2014, 19/12/2014‑16/02/2015, 08‑28/07/2016, 15/09/2016‑16/03/2017, 06/04/2017‑21/06/2017), lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack or inadequate furniture, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food, bunk beds, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities
3,000
63817/16
28/11/2016
Vasile CIOCAN
1968
Jilava and Giurgiu Prisons
08/04/2014 to
16/08/2017
3 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 9 day(s)
1.62-2.81 m²
overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient natural light, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to warm water, lack or inadequate furniture, no or insufficient disinfection of barbering and haircutting tools, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of toiletries, inadequate temperature
3,000
69942/16
09/01/2017
Nicușor-Dorinel PĂDURARU
1995
Bârcea Mare, Aiud, Târgu Mureş, Gherla and Bistriţa Prisons
12/01/2014 to
05/09/2017
3 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 25 day(s)
1.47-2.77 m²
overcrowding, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack or inadequate furniture, constant electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of toiletries, no or insufficient disinfection of barbering and haircutting tools, no or restricted access to warm water, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities
3,000
77770/16
29/12/2016
Vasile HULUBEI
1993
Bacău, Vaslui, Tulcea and Târgu-Ocna Prisons
28/01/2014 to
22/11/2016
2 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 26 day(s)
1.43-2.87 m²
overcrowding (save for 04/05/2016‑22/11/2016), mouldy or dirty cell, inadequate temperature, poor quality of food, poor quality of potable water, insufficient number of sleeping places, infestation of cell with insects/rodents
3,000
38017/17
18/05/2017
Bogdan-Adrian CĂTĂNESCU
1983
Timişoara Prison
31/07/2015 to
26/01/2017
1 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 27 day(s)
2.00-2.75 m²
overcrowding, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, lack or inadequate furniture, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of toiletries, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, poor quality of food, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to shower
3,000
458/18
12/12/2017
Costel PETREA
1967
Andreea-Gabriela Cadar
Galați
Poarta Albă Prison
10/02/2016 to
13/06/2017
1 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 4 day(s)
Poarta Albă Prison
24/06/2017 to
31/08/2017
2 month(s) and 8 day(s)
1.55-1.90 m²
1.97-2.43 m²
overcrowding, lack of fresh air, bunk beds, insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to running water, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of toiletries, poor quality of food
3,000
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.