FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 41688/16
Emil Marius CILIBEANU against Romania
and 6 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 10 March 2022 as a Committee composed of:
Armen Harutyunyan, President,
Jolien Schukking,
Ana Maria Guerra Martins, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,
Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The list of applicants is set out in the appended table.
The applicants’ complaints under Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention were communicated to the Romanian Government (“the Government”).
THE LAW
Joinder of the applicationsHaving regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.
Complaints under Article 3 of the Convention (inadequate conditions of detention)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.”
The Government argued mainly that the applicants had lost their victim status because they had benefited from the remedy offered by Law no. 169/2017 amending and completing Law no. 254/2013 on the execution of sentences. They asked the Court to reject the present applications for being incompatible ratione personae with the provisions of the Convention.
The applicants disagreed, claiming that the compensation awarded to them had been insufficient.
The Court notes that in its recent decision Dîrjan and Ştefan v. Romania ((dec.), nos. 14224/15 and 50977/15, 15 April 2020) it has examined similar applications as the ones in the present case and declared them inadmissible considering that the applicants had lost their victim status. The Court noted that Law no. 169/2017 amending and completing Law no. 254/2013 on the execution of sentences, adopted following the pilot judgment in the case of Rezmiveș and Others v. Romania (nos. 61467/12 and 3 others, 25 April 2017) and in force between October 2017 and December 2019, had been an effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention in Romanian prisons. More specifically, the above law had set forth a compensatory remedy, available for periods of detention ranging from 2012 to 2019 and allowing the deduction of six days for 30 days spent in conditions of detention that fell short of standards compatible with Article 3 of the Convention (see Dîrjan and Ştefan, cited above, § 28). That benefit had an impact on the term of the prison sentences giving detainees an opportunity of earlier release on parole.
Turning to the circumstances of the present cases, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility of these complaints. The above-mentioned remedy was available to the applicants in the present applications and, indeed, they benefitted from it. Thus, on different dates, the domestic authorities, applying the provisions described in the abovementioned decision Dîrjan and Ştefan, awarded compensation, through the reduction of days, to the applicants for the entire period of detention spent in inadequate conditions of which they complained (for further details see the appended table).
The Court is therefore satisfied that the applicants have been afforded adequate redress and can no longer claim to be victims of a violation of their rights under Article 3 of the Convention insofar as the conditions of their detention, described in the appended table, are concerned. It follows that the applications in this part are incompatible ratione personae with the provisions of the Convention and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the Convention.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Declares the applications inadmissible.
Done in English and notified in writing on 31 March 2022.
{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
Domestic compensation awarded
(in days)
based on total period calculated domestically
41688/16
05/09/2016
Emil Marius CILIBEANU
1975
Slobozia, Poarta Albă and Jilava Prisons
15/09/2015 to 29/08/2017
1 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 15 day(s)
138 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 15/09/2015 to 29/08/2017
72425/16
17/01/2017
Lucian-Valer MAN
1975
Vasile Rareş Biro
Satu Mare
Cluj County Police, Gherla and Baia Mare Prisons
05/05/2016 to 01/11/2017
1 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 28 day(s)
102 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 05/05/2016 to 01/11/2017
7088/17
16/01/2017
Dumitru-Andrei GASPAR
1991
Vasile Rareş Biro
Satu Mare
Maramureş County Police, Gherla and Baia Mare Prisons
04/07/2014 to 01/07/2017
2 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 28 day(s)
282 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 04/07/2014 to 25/06/2018
8515/17
17/01/2017
Iosif LAKATOŞ
1987
Vasile Rareş Biro
Satu Mare
Cluj County Police, Gherla and Baia Mare Prisons
24/11/2015 to 11/05/2017
1 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 18 day(s)
216 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/11/2015 to 05/02/2019
12202/17
06/02/2017
Alexandru GÁSPÁR
1983
Vasile Rareş Biro
Satu Mare
Sălaj County Police, Oradea and Satu Mare Prisons
05/08/2014 to 14/11/2017
3 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 10 day(s)
234 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 05/08/2014 to 14/11/2017
19540/17
02/03/2017
Stelian TAFI
1982
Ionela Mărgărit
Bucharest
Arad, Timişoara and Brăila Prisons
03/04/2016 to 16/10/2017
1 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 14 day(s)
108 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 03/04/2016 to 16/10/2017
39772/17
23/05/2017
Tamer OSMAN
1987
Andreea-Gabriela Cadar
Galați
Constanţa County Police, Slobozia and Poarta Albă Prisons
01/05/2014 to30/03/2017
2 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 30 day(s)
246 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 01/05/2014 to 30/03/2017