FOURTH SECTION
CASE OF UDILĂ AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA
(Application no. 34712/16 and 11 others –
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
15 December 2022
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Udilă 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, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 25 November 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:
Article 3
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
7. In application no. 19529/17, the Government raised a preliminary objection concerning loss of victim status by the applicant for the periods of detention specified in the appended table because he was afforded adequate redress based on Law no. 169/2017 amending and completing Law no. 254/2013 on the execution of sentences for those specific periods of detention.
8. The Court notes that the domestic remedy introduced in respect of inadequate conditions of detention in Romania and applicable until December 2019 was held to be an effective one in the case of Dîrjan and Ştefan v. Romania ((dec.), nos. 14224/15 and 50977/15, §§ 23-33, 15 April 2020). This remedy was available to the applicant in the present application, and he was, indeed, afforded adequate redress for certain periods of detention (for details see the appended table).
9. Therefore, the Court accepts the Government’s objection and finds that this part of application no. 19529/17 is incompatible ratione personae with the provisions of the Convention and must be declared inadmissible in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the Convention.
10. Turning to the remaining periods of the applicants’ detention as specified in the appended table, 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).
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, 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 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, were inadequate.
13. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.
REMAINING COMPLAINTS14. In application no. 58513/16 the applicant also raised other complaints under Article 3 of the Convention.
15. 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, 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.
16. It follows that this part of the application must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention.
APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION17. 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.”
18. 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.
19. 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;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 15 December 2022, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Armen Harutyunyan
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 domestically
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros) [1]
34712/16
30/09/2016
Cătălin UDILĂ
1966
Tănase Dumitru
Catunu
Rahova, Mărgineni and Rudului - Ploiești Prisons
23/06/2015 to
19/07/2017
2 year(s) and 27 day(s)
1.094 - 2.45 m²
overcrowding (except between
29/12/2015 - 10/08/2016; 22/08 - 25/08/2016; 20/02 - 03/03/2017), lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to warm water, bunk beds, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, insufficient number of sleeping places, poor quality of food, mouldy or dirty cell
3,000
37920/16
02/09/2016
Nicolae SCRIDON
1977
Arad Police County Station; Bistrița Năsăud, Arad, Rahova, Gherla Prisons; Colibași (Mioveni), Dej Prison Hospitals
10/10/2010 to
30/08/2016
5 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 21 day(s)
1.78 - 2.48 m²
overcrowding (except between
14/04/2011 - 30/06/2011; 17/10/2011 - 18/06/2015, 13/10/2015 - 09/11/2015), lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to shower, lack or inadequate furniture, poor quality of food, lack of toiletries, infestation of cell with insects/rodents
5,000
39070/16
09/08/2016
Constantin CULIMAN
1985
Rahova, Colibași and Târgu-Jiu Prisons
23/04/2014 to
13/09/2016
2 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 22 day(s)
1.28 - 1.94 m²
overcrowding (save between
23/04 - 13/05/2014,
12 - 27/02/2015), no or restricted access to running water, lack of fresh air, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of toiletries, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air
3,000
39939/16
04/08/2016
Marian BOLTAȘ
1981
Boltaș Elena
Bălteni
Rahova, Jilava, Drobeta-Turnu Severin Prisons
10/04/2016 to
12/01/2017
9 month(s) and 3 day(s)
1.42 - 2.58 m²
overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or insufficient natural light, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack or inadequate furniture, poor quality of food
1,000
49705/16
06/01/2017
Sándor HAMZA
1986
Biro Vasile Rareş
Satu-Mare
Bihor County Police Station; Oradea and Satu Mare Prisons
17/12/2011 to
14/03/2017
5 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 26 day(s)
1.63 – 2.78 m²
overcrowding (except between
23/01/2012 – 04/04/2012;
03/05/2012 – 26/06/2012), lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, mouldy or dirty cell
5,000
51890/16
03/10/2016
Luca SAMOILĂ
1971
Vaslui, Iași Prisons
25/10/2006 to
29/09/2017
10 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 5 day(s)
1.28 - 2.86 m²
overcrowding (except between
08/06/2015 - 08/11/2015), lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen
5,000
53342/16
19/10/2016
Ștefan TODOR
1954
Sibiu County Police Station; Aiud and Bistrița Prisons
21/08/2006 to
19/04/2017
10 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 30 day(s)
1.20 - 2.49 m²
overcrowding (except between
13/12/2007 – 21/01/2008; 13/05/2008 – 12/12/2008; 05/01/2009 – 15/05/2009; 18/05/2009 – 28/08/2009; 17/04/2014 – 20/10/2014; 23/07/2015 – 12/05/2016; 23/06/2015 – 12/05/2016), no or restricted access to potable water, poor quality of food, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack or inadequate furniture
5,000
54708/16
17/10/2016
Gheorghe DUCA
1956
Jilava, Rahova and Giurgiu Prisons
19/08/2012 to
18/10/2016
4 year(s) and 2 month(s)
1,18 - 2.94 m²
overcrowding (save between
23/10/2012 - 18/12/2012; 02/11/2015 - 28/04/2016), infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of fresh air, poor quality of food, poor quality of potable water
3,000
58372/16
01/11/2016
Alin-Claudiu JUMOLEA
1981
Bucharest Police detention facilities no. 15; Rahova, Craiova, Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Drobeta-Turnu Severin - Vânjuleț Exterior Section, Craiova - Pelendava and Craiova - Pelendava - Făcăi Exterior Section Prisons
10/09/2012 to
11/09/2017
5 year(s) and 2 day(s)
overcrowding, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack or inadequate furniture, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to warm water
5,000
58513/16
28/11/2016
Gabriel CĂLIN
1972
Rahova, Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Craiova - Pelendava, Jilava Prisons
17/10/2014 to
11/04/2017
2 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 26 day(s)
0.94 - 2.38 m²
overcrowding (except between 04/11/2015 - 09/11/2015), lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to potable water
3,000
19529/17
02/03/2017
Petronel-Cristinel MĂRGEAN
1984
Mărgărit Ionela
Bucharest
Galați County Police Station; Galați Prison
05/07/2012 to
23/07/2012
19 day(s)
Brăila and Tulcea Prisons
23/12/2019 to
15/04/2021
1 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 24 day(s)
1.37 - 1.73 m²
overcrowding, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of privacy for toilet
372 days as
compensation for the period of detention 24/07/2012 – 22/12/2019 in conditions contrary to Article 3, and except
for the periods
indicated in column
no. 5 and the periods spent in transit rooms
3,000
44000/17
12/06/2017
Nicolae-Robert DAN
1975
Deva Police Station; Deva Bârcea Mare, Aiud and Gherla Prisons
04/10/2013 to
13/12/2016
3 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 10 day(s)
1.29 - 2.95 m²
overcrowding (except between
15/10/2013 - 08/11/2013; 26/08/2015 - 17/10/2015; 11/12/2015 - 14/03/2016), inadequate temperature, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, constant electric light, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to warm water
3,000
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.