FOURTH SECTION
CASE OF VLĂDUŢ AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA
(Application no. 45381/15 and 12 others – see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
12 January 2023
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Vlăduţ 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 8 December 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:
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
7. In applications nos. 45381/15 and 8082/17, the Government raised a preliminary objection concerning the loss of victim status by the applicants for the periods of detention specified in the appended table because they were 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 the present 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. 45381/15 and 8082/17, 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. 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, the Court considers that in the instant case the applicants’ conditions of detention during the periods specified 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. 45381/15, 47209/16, 58208/16, 58284/16, 75877/16 and 8082/17, the applicants also raised other complaints under various Articles of the Convention.
15. 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.
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 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 during 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 12 January 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]
45381/15
03/12/2015
Mihai VLĂDUŢ
1973
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Giurgiu Prison
07/06/2012 to
23/07/2012
1 month(s) and 17 day(s)
-
bunk beds, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of privacy for toilet
432 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 10/07/2018
1,000
7931/16
22/09/2016
Andronie LINGURAR
1964
Baia Mare County Police Station; Gherla and
Baia Mare Prisons.
17/04/2012 to
08/02/2017
4 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 23 day(s)
2.00-2.50 m²
overcrowding, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to toilet, lack or inadequate furniture, no or restricted access to shower
3,000
46766/16
17/10/2016
Constantin CONSTANTIN
1986
Jilava Prison
16/10/2015 to
16/01/2017
1 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 1 day(s)
Jilava Prison
01/02/2017 to
06/04/2017
2 month(s) and 6 day(s)
1.58-2.27 m²
1.7 m²
overcrowding, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen
3,000
47209/16
12/09/2016
Mihăiţă CRISTEA
1977
Iaşi and Gherla Prisons
24/05/2012 to
23/07/2012
2 month(s)
Găeşti and Tulcea Prisons
07/01/2020 to
09/02/2022
2 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 3 day(s)
2.12 m²
overcrowding (save for 24/05/12-28/05/12), lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food
3,000
58208/16
29/01/2017
Marian RADU
1984
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Ploieşti Prison
23/08/2016 to
05/10/2016
1 month(s) and 13 day(s)
bunk beds, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of potable water
1,000
58284/16
15/12/2016
Mircea-Robert MĂRUNŢELU
1984
Mihail Iulian Niţu
Bucharest
Jilava Prison
27/04/2016 to
30/09/2017
1 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 4 day(s)
1.79-2.24 m²
overcrowding (save for 09/09/2016-30/09/2017), mouldy or dirty cell, lack or inadequate furniture, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen
3,000
69771/16
18/11/2016
Constantin CONŢESCU
1977
Claudia Nadina Daciana
Cândea
Timișoara
Timişoara, Arad and Rahova Prisons
30/05/2014 to
24/05/2016
1 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 25 day(s)
2.04-2.79 m²
overcrowding (save for 04/07/2014-19/02/2015), insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack or inadequate furniture
3,000
70358/16
15/11/2016
Alexandru HORVATH
1969
Bihor Police County Station, Oradea, Rahova, Arad and Satu Mare Prisons,
Dej Hospital Prison
19/03/2008 to
08/11/2016
8 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 22 day(s)
1.31-2.96 m²
overcrowding (save for 02/11/2009-17/12/2009, 10/07/2009-13/07/2009, 18/12/2009-21/12/2009, 27/06/2012-31/10/2012, 04/03/2013-07/05/2013, 03/03/2014-07/03/2014, 15/01/2016-18/01/2016, 19/04/2016-22/06/2016), bunk beds, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack or inadequate furniture
5,000
75877/16
28/02/2017
Marian MĂRUNŢELU
1983
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Giurgiu Prison
11/02/2012 to
23/07/2012
5 month(s) and 13 day(s)
2.90 m²
overcrowding, bunk beds, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food
1,000
7502/17
03/01/2017
Daniel UGLAI
1971
Nicoleta Trif
Arad
Timişoara Prison
24/12/2019 to
18/09/2020
8 month(s) and 26 day(s)
2.00 m²
overcrowding, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to shower, lack or inadequate furniture
1,000
8082/17
30/12/2016
Dorel DUME
1968
Cezara-Maria Nichita-Costescu
Timișoara
Galaţi, Arad, Timişoara, Aiud, Tulcea, Rahova, Slobozia and Craiova Prisons
05/10/2007 to
23/07/2012
4 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 19 day(s)
1.00-2.50 m²
overcrowding (save for 05/10/2007-01/12/2008), insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, constant electric light
192 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 11/07/2018
3,000
12279/17
26/01/2017
Vasile-Gheorghe MICU
1971
Cezara-Maria Nichita-Costescu
Timișoara
Bucharest detention facility no 1, Rahova, Arad and Timişoara Prisons
09/08/2010 to
09/11/2016
6 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 1 day(s)
1.39-2.79 m²
overcrowding (save for 06/04/2011-30/04/2011; 14/06/2011-07/03/2013), lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen
5,000
13953/17
10/02/2017
Roxana TOTU
1979
Alexandra Giurgiu
Brașov
Târgşor Prison
24/12/2019 to
21/07/2021
1 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 28 day(s)
2.33-2.88 m²
overcrowding (save for 07/04/2020-07/09/2020, 09/10/2020-19/01/2021, 27/04/2021-04/06/2021), mouldy or dirty cell, lack or inadequate furniture, constant electric light, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen
3,000
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.