FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 24457/16
Marian COSTACHE against Romania
and 10 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 7 April 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 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 that the applicants had lost their victim status because they had benefitted 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 was insufficient.
The Court notes that in 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 (no. 61467/12 and three 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). This benefit had impacted the term of the prison sentences and had given 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 those 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 laid down 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). Furthermore, the applicants were released from the detention facilities they complained about.
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.
Remaining complaintsSome applicants also raised other complaints under Article 3 of the Convention.
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, they 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.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Declares the applications inadmissible.
Done in English and notified in writing on 5 May 2022.
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
24457/16
11/08/2016
Marian COSTACHE
1969
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Târgu Jiu Prison
30/05/2016 to
17/01/2017
7 month(s) and 19 day(s)
348 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 29/01/2018
27157/16
24/06/2016
Bogdan-Lucian IENCIU
1985
Maramureș Police and Gherla Prison
28/09/2014 to
13/12/2019
5 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 16 day(s)
378 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 28/09/2014 to 23/12/2019
35916/16
13/07/2016
Vasile STOLERU
1975
Rahova, Bacău, Iași and Vaslui Prisons
08/02/2013 to
15/05/2018
5 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 8 day(s)
270 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 15/05/2018
44406/16
26/07/2016
George DOROFTE
1981
Ionela Mărgărit
Bucharest
Brăila, Galați and Iași Prisons
01/05/2015 to
12/07/2016
1 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 12 day(s)
240 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 06/02/2014 to 13/12/2017
44423/16
26/07/2016
Florică DUMITRIU
1967
Ionela Mărgărit
Bucharest
Brăila Prison
04/01/2016 to
04/10/2019
3 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 1 day(s)
288 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 08/12/2015 to 12/12/2019
44426/16
26/07/2016
Emil ABABEI
1971
Ionela Mărgărit
Bucharest
Brăila and Galați Prisons
29/09/2014 to
08/10/2019
5 year(s) and 10 day(s)
342 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 01/09/2014 to 08/10/2019
59705/16
08/11/2016
Alain PASCAL
1972
Vaslui and Rahova Prisons
18/03/2016 to
21/11/2017
1 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 4 day(s)
114 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 18/03/2016 to 21/11/2017
76646/16
05/01/2017
Daniel-Emanuel ILIUȘI
1976
Rahova, Drobeta Turnu Severin and Târgu Jiu Prisons
18/10/2016 to
26/10/2017
1 year(s) and 9 day(s)
72 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 18/10/2016 to 26/10/2017
17492/17
27/03/2017
Constantin CIOCOIU
1958
Târgoviște County Police and Mărgineni, Ploiești and Găești Prisons
07/10/2014 to
24/10/2017
3 year(s) and 18 day(s)
204 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 07/10/2014 to 24/10/2017
48328/17
30/06/2017
Felix-Milorad VASILESCU
1976
Andreea-Gabriela Cadar
Galați
Slobozia, Rahova, Jilava and Poarta Albă Prisons
12/10/2015 to
19/10/2017
2 year(s) and 8 day(s)
144 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 12/10/2015 to 19/10/2017
56682/17
29/08/2017
Alexandru-Dumitru DUȚĂ
1988
Veronica Duță
Bucharest
Constanța County Police and Poarta Albă and Jilava Prisons
07/04/2016 to
04/03/2019
2 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 26 day(s)
324 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 03/09/2013 to 19/05/2015 and from 07/04/2016 to 04/03/2019