Communicated on 5 March 2015
FOURTH SECTION
Application no. 57405/13
Krzysztof GALLA
against Poland
lodged on 28 August 2013
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The applicant, Mr Krzysztof Galla, is a Polish national, who was born in 1985 and lives in Opole. He is represented before the Court by Mr P. Rał, a lawyer practising in Warsaw.
A. The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.
1. The period of the applicant’s detention
The applicant was detained in various prisons in two periods (1) between 5 August 2004 and 7 April 2009 and (2) as from 28 June 2010 until the date of lodging the application with the Court he has been serving a prison sentence of undisclosed length in the Opole Remand Centre.
2. The conditions of the applicant’s detention
According to the applicant, throughout his entire detention he had been committed to overcrowded cells in which the space per person had been below the Polish statutory minimum standard of 3 m2.
Other elements of living and sanitary conditions had been inadequate. The sanitary corners were insufficiently separated with a piece of drape and plywood. The cells were not sufficiently ventilated or lit and during winter they were not sufficiently heated. The cells were therefore humid and infested with bedbugs. The applicant added that the adequate medical treatment was not provided to him even though he suffered from severe cold and headaches. Moreover, the applicant indicated that he had been deprived of access to educational and cultural activities.
The official statistics published by the Polish Prison Service reveal that on 30 June 2010 in the Opole Remand Centre could be detained 326 detainees plus 11 on the additional places facilitated by the authorities. At the time specified 334 persons were detained in this facility, i.e. it was full up to 99,1%.
The remaining elements of the living and sanitary conditions and the quality of food met the statutory standards. It appears that the applicant had one hot shower per week and one hour of an outdoor exercise per day.
3. The applicant’s civil action against the State Treasury
On 31 January 2013 the applicant who was represented pro bono by a lawyer from the LEX NOSTRA Foundation in Warsaw lodged a civil action against the State Treasury for infringement of his personal rights due to inadequate conditions of his detention in the Opole Remand Centre, Strzelce Opolskie Prison no. 1, Nysa Prison, the Kielce Remand Centre and the Strzelce Opolskie Remand Centre no. 1.
The applicant sought 78,500 Polish zlotys (PLN) in compensation, PLN 5,000 in payment to a charity and public apology on the website of the Lex Nostra Foundation.
4. Application for exemption from the court fees
Together with his legal action the applicant applied for exemption from the court fees under Article 102 of the Law of 28 July 2005 on Court Fees in Civil Proceedings.
On 18 February 2013 the applicant was summoned to supplement the information regarding his material status.
At the time of lodging the civil action the applicant was detained in the Opole Remand Centre. The applicant presented a certificate of the Governor of the Opole Remand Centre confirming that the Remand Centre did not employ the detainees due to the lack of work places and that the applicant had PLN 150 (approx. EUR 36) on his account but could not use it for his own purposes as it was kept in the so-called “iron savings box” (żelazna kasa). Furthermore, he did not have any valuable deposit, received financial help from his wife on 6 June 2012 in the amount of PLN 100 (approx. EUR 24) and on 5 November 2011 in the amount of PLN 200 (approx. EUR 48). The Governor also stated that the applicant transferred part of his money on his account, i.e. PLN 50 (approx. EUR 12) and on 31 August 2012 and PLN 100 (approx. EUR 24). He spent in the prison canteen on 18 June 2012 PLN 50 (approx. EUR 12) and on 9 November 2012 for PLN 99.97 (approx. EUR 24). Thus, the applicant was left with PLN 0.03 for his own use.
On 18 March 2013 the Warsaw District Court, sitting as a court officer (referendarz sądowy) (case no. III C 137/13), decided to exempt the applicant from the court fees in part higher than PLN 50 (approx. EUR 12) and dismissed the remainder of his application. The court stated that due to the fact that the applicant’s claims had covered the period since 2004 and that he had been receiving money from outside of the prison he was able to save money for court fees in the minimum amount.
The applicant lodged a complaint against the court officer’s decision (skarga na orzeczenie referendarza sadowego). The applicant sought to be fully exempted from the court fees. His lawyer submitted that even though it was true that the applicant’s needs were taken care of by prison authorities but as he could not work during his detention due to the lack of work it was impossible for him to secure funds for court fees. He also argued that the applicant used money given to him by his wife at the prison canteen in order to buy food and hygienic products that had not been provided by the penitentiary authorities. Thus, his behaviour could not have been described as reckless.
On 10 April 2013 the Warsaw Regional Court decided to fully uphold the decision made by the court officer on 18 March 2013. The court underlined that mandatory payment of court fees by the claimant had been one of the principles of the civil proceedings and exemption from the court fees was an exception that could be granted only in special circumstances. The court could not only look into the mathematics of the material situation of the applicant but also into his diligence in securing funds for future civil action. Contrary to the certificate of financial situation of the applicant issued by the authorities of the Opole Remand Centre, the court stated that the applicant had accumulated PLN 150 for his own disposal and could have used it to pay court fee in the amount of PLN 50.
As the applicant did not supplement the payment of PLN 50, on 23 May 2013 the Warsaw Regional Court decided to return his civil action.
B. Relevant domestic law and practice
A detailed description of the relevant domestic law and practice concerning general rules governing the conditions of detention in Poland and domestic remedies available to detainees alleging that the conditions of their detention were inadequate are set out in the Court’s pilot judgments in the cases of Orchowski v. Poland (no. 17885/04) and Norbert Sikorski v. Poland (no. 17599/05) adopted on 22 October 2009 (see §§ 75-85 and §§ 45-88 respectively). More recent developments are described in the Court’s decision in the case of Łatak v. Poland (no. 52070/08) adopted on 12 October 2010 (see §§ 25-54).
The rules governing the right to access to a court were set in the Court’s judgments, inter alia, Kreuz v. Poland, no. 28249/95, §§ 58-67, ECHR 2001‑VI; Jedamski and Jedamska v. Poland, no. 73547/01, §§ 60‑67, 26 July 2005.
COMPLAINTS
The applicant complains under Articles 3 and 6 § 1 of the Convention about the inadequate conditions of his detention in the Opole Remand Centre as from 28 June 2010 and about the fact that he was deprived of his right of access to a court.
QUESTIONs TO THE PARTIES
1. Having regard to the fact that the applicant was deprived of his liberty in the Opole Remand Centre in overcrowded cells, was he subjected to treatment contrary to Article 3 of the Convention?
2. The Government is invited to produce the documents regarding the conditions of the applicant’s detention in the Opole Remand Centre as from 28 June 2010.
3. Was the applicant’s right of access to a court guaranteed by Article 6 of the Convention violated in the present case?
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