FOURTH SECTION
CASE OF VELICI AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA
(Applications nos. 9302/16 and 16 others –
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
2 March 2023
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Velici 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 2 February 2023,
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. As regards the admissibility of applications nos. 13704/16, 22205/16, 30478/16, 43698/16 and 49354/16, the Government raised a preliminary objection concerning the loss of victim status by the applicants for certain periods of detention specified in the appended table because they had been 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 applicants in these applications, and they were, 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 these parts of applications nos. 13704/16, 22205/16, 30478/16, 43698/16 and 49354/16 are 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. The Court further notes that for the remaining periods of detention the applicants were kept 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, for the periods 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 applications nos. 27255/16, 30478/16 and 38527/16, the applicants 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 applications 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.
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 2 March 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]
9302/16
14/06/2016
Gelu VELICI
1970
Arad Prison
02/10/2014 to
23/02/2018
3 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 22 day(s)
-
overcrowding, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, ack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light
3,000
13704/16
24/03/2016
Robert BULGARU
1978
Tulcea County Police Station; Constanta Poarta Albă, Tulcea and Jilava Prisons
21/06/2004 to
23/07/2012
8 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 3 day(s)
Constanta Poarta Albă, Tulcea and Jilava Prisons.
24/12/2019
pending
More than 2 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 23 day(s)
1.3-3 m²
overcrowding, (save for the period between 01/01/2012‑23/07/2012), lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, poor quality of food
534 days in compensation for the period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 24/07/2012‑23/12/2019 in Constanța Poarta Albă, Tulcea and Jilava Prisons
5,000
22205/16
24/06/2016
Sorin MUNTEANU
1977
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Aiud Prison.
25/08/2021
pending
More than 1 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 23 day(s)
2.5 m²
overcrowding, insufficient sanitary facilities, insects, lack of fresh air and natural light, poor quality of food, lack of furniture
174 days in compensation for a total period spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 28/01/2016 to 13/12/2018 in the Sibiu Police Inspectorate and the Aiud Prison
3,000
25198/16
29/08/2016
Ion-Mircea FORLAFU
1980
Craiova, Drobeta Turnu Severin and Târgu-Jiu Prisons
13/05/2015 to
03/10/2017
2 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 21 day(s)
-
overcrowding, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents
3,000
26054/16
30/05/2016
Adrian-Iosif BODNARIUC
1988
Bistriţa County Police Station, Gherla and Bistriţa Prisons
10/11/2014 to
03/08/2017
2 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 25 day(s)
-
overcrowding, (save for the periods between 22/09/2015‑12/10/2015 and 20/03/2017‑03/08/2017), lack or inadequate furniture, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, poor quality of food
3,000
27255/16
13/06/2016
Gabriel-Renato SEFER
1983
Ana Maria Loredana Ciobotaru
Galati
Galaţi Prison
31/07/2015 to
11/10/2016
1 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 12 day(s)
Galati Prison.
21/10/2016 to
03/05/2017
6 month(s) and 13 day(s)
-
overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack or inadequate furniture, mouldy or dirty cell
3,000
30478/16
24/05/2016
Lorant-Robert LUCACIU
1974
Vasile Rareş Biro
Satu Mare
Satu Mare Prison.
24/12/2019 to
15/04/2020
3 month(s) and 23 day(s)
-
overcrowding, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of fresh air, poor quality of food
534 days in compensation for a total period of 2,685 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 26/09/2014 to 23/12/2019 in Oradea and Satu Mare Prisons.
1,000
31739/16
12/07/2016
Marin LASCARACHE
1972
Bucharest Police detention facility no. 13; Rahova and Jilava Prisons
08/10/2014 to
12/07/2016
1 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 5 day(s)
-
overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, cold cells
3,000
38510/16
28/07/2016
Vasile CORNEA
1978
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Bucharest detention facility no. 19; Rahova, Jilava and Giurgiu Prisons
13/02/2015 to
11/08/2017
2 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 30 day(s)
-
overcrowding, (save for the periods between 05/11/2015‑13/12/2015; 16/12/2015‑17/12/2015; 18/12/2015‑03/02/2016; 04/02/2016‑12/07/2016; 13/07/2016‑11/08/2017), lack of or insufficient natural light, poor quality of food, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities
3,000
38527/16
20/02/2017
Marian-Mădălin ALBU
1982
Mărgineni, Ploiești and Găești Prisons; Colibași and Jilava Prison Hospitals
08/10/2015 to
22/08/2017
1 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 15 day(s)
-
overcrowding
(save for the periods 14/06/2016‑11/07/2016 and 18/07/2016‑22/08/2017), mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient natural light
3,000
42191/16
04/08/2016
Gabriel TUCA
1974
Vaslui County Police Station; Iași and Vaslui Prisons
06/07/2013 to
06/12/2016
3 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 1 day(s)
1.23-2.5 m²
overcrowding, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food
3,000
43698/16
21/07/2016
Neculai MOCANU
1975
Ionela Mărgărit
Bucharest
Galati Prison
11/09/2020
pending
More than 2 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 6 day(s)
-
overcrowding, poor quality of food/water, bunk beds, small courtyard, insects, inadequate sanitary facilities, lack of fresh air, dirty and mouldy cell
504 days in compensation for a total period of 2,534 days spent in inadequate conditions from 24/12/2012 and 23/12/2019.
3,000
49354/16
14/10/2016
Paul SAMFIESCU
1983
Arad Prison
04/02/2015 to
26/05/2016
1 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 23 day(s)
-
lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food, lack or inadequate furniture
138 days in compensation for a total period of 713 days spent in inadequate conditions between 31/05/2014‑04/02/2015 and 26/05/2016‑24/10/2017 in Timiş County Police Inspectorate and in Timişoara Prison.
3,000
55775/16
10/10/2016
Marius BLĂNIȚĂ
1977
Vaslui Prison.
23/12/2019 to
03/03/2021
1 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 9 day(s)
Vaslui Prison.
08/04/2021
pending
More than 1 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 9 day(s)
-
overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet, mouldy or dirty cell, lack or inadequate furniture, bunk beds, infestation of cell with insects/rodents
3,000
62794/16
27/12/2016
Ionuţ CĂMEŞOI
1990
Bacău County Police Station; Bacău, Iași, Vaslui and Gaești Prisons
17/03/2012 to
08/02/2017
4 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 23 day(s)
-
overcrowding, (save for the period between 09/10/2012‑18/10/2012), lack of fresh air, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cells with insects
5,000
64931/16
04/01/2017
Alin-Gabriel GROZA
1982
Emil Ioan Cristea
Curtici
Arad and Timisoara Prisons.
06/10/2015 to
15/05/2017
1 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 10 day(s)
Timisoara Prison
29/05/2017 to
15/06/2017
18 day(s)
Timisoara Prison
26/06/2017 to
06/07/2017
11 day(s)
-
overcrowding, (save for the periods between 06/10/2015-27/10/2015; 29/10/2015-19/05/2016), lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of toiletries
3,000
54324/17
11/09/2017
Alin Remus HARŢ
1982
Arad Prison
25/05/2016 to
06/10/2016
4 month(s) and 12 day(s)
Timișoara Prison
23/12/2019 to
05/10/2020
9 month(s) and 13 day(s)
2-2.5 m²
overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food, infestation of cell with insects/rodents
3,000
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.