FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 11431/16
Liviu DUCA
against Romania
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 25 March 2021 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 application lodged on 22 March 2016,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The applicant, Mr Liviu Duca, was born in 1962. He was represented by Mr O. Chiriac.
The applicant’s complaints under Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention were communicated to the Romanian Government (“the Government”) on 1 September 2016.
On 31 January 2019, the applicant’s representative informed the Court that the applicant had died on 23 October 2017.
On 26 February 2019 the Registry sent to the applicant’s representative a letter asking whether there were any potential heirs wishing to pursue the proceedings before the Court. On 29 March 2019, the applicant’s son, Mr Liviu-Marian Duca, replied that he wanted to pursue the application, without joining a copy of a document proving that he was the applicant’s heir. He stated that he was not the only heir and that he would provide a succession certificate in the future, without mentioning a specific date.
By letter dated 13 March 2020, the applicant’s representative was invited to send, no later than 24 April 2020, a copy of a document proving the capacity of Mr Liviu-Marian Duca as heir of the deceased applicant. No such document has been received to date and no explanation has been provided for the failure to comply with the Registry’s instructions.
THE LAW
The Court must address the question whether Mr Liviu-Marian Duca has standing to pursue the application originally lodged by the applicant, who died on 23 October 2017.
The Government did not comment on this point.
The Court recalls that, where the applicant has died after the application was lodged, it has accepted that the next-of-kin or heir may in principle pursue the application, provided that he or she has sufficient interest in the case (see, for example, Centre for Legal Resources on behalf of Valentin Câmpeanu v. Romania [GC], no. 47848/08, § 97, ECHR 2014, with further references). The Court has also established that it is for the heir who wishes to pursue the proceedings before the Court to substantiate his or her standing to do so (see, for example, Belskiy v. Russia (dec.), no. 23593/03, 26 November 2009).
In the present case Mr Liviu-Marian Duca failed to inform the Court of the applicant’s death and expressed his wish to pursue the application only after the Court’s inquiry as to the existence of potential heirs. Moreover, having claimed to be one of the applicant’s heirs, Mr Liviu-Marian Duca did not provide any document, such as a succession certificate, to confirm acceptance of the late applicant’s succession (see Rista and Others v. Albania [Committee], nos. 5207/10 and 6 others, 17 March 2016) or any statement confirming that he had accepted succession after his deceased father (contrast Romankevič v. Lithuania, no. 25747/07, § 15, 2 December 2014) or any other documents or detailed information which could be of relevance in his particular case (contrast Andreyeva v. Russia (dec.), no. 76737/01, 16 October 2003). He failed to do so even after the Court’s express request and provided no explanation for this failure.
Against this background, the Court finds that the request to pursue the proceedings was submitted by a person who has provided no evidence of his status as an heir (see, mutatis mutandis, Léger v. France (striking out) [GC], no. 19324/02, § 50, 30 March 2009 and, most recently, Coșcodar v. Romania (dec.), no. 522/16, 21 January 2021).
In the light of the foregoing, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention, the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application. Furthermore, it does not consider that “respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols” requires the examination of the application.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.
Done in English and notified in writing on 15 April 2021.
{signature_p_2}
Viktoriya MaradudinaArmen Harutyunyan
Acting Deputy RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy