FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Applications nos. 39679/16 and 50256/16
Cornel GHEORGHE against Romania
and Nicuşor DUMBRAVĂ against Romania
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 14 September 2023 as a Committee composed of:
Faris Vehabović, President,
Anja Seibert-Fohr,
Anne Louise Bormann, 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 deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The list of the applicants is set out in the appendix.
The applicants’ complaints under Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention were communicated to the Romanian Government (see the appended table for the relevant dates), the friendly settlement procedure being set in motion through the offices of the Registrar upon communication.
No reply was received by the Court from the applicants within the provided deadline. By letters sent by registered post, the applicants were notified that the Court received no reply within the time allowed for the submission of their response (see the appended table for the relevant dates). The applicants’ attention was further drawn to Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention, which provides that the Court may strike an application out of its list of cases where the circumstances lead to the conclusion that the applicant does not intend to pursue the application.
The registered letters were received at the addresses indicated by the applicants (see details in the appended table). No reply to the letters has been received by the Court and there are no previous letters from the applicants informing the Court about the change of address. The last correspondence from the applicants dates back several years as well (see the appended table for the relevant dates).
THE LAW
Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.
In the light of the foregoing, in the absence of any recent correspondence from the applicants and considering that, following the communication of the applications to the Government, no reply was received to the Court’s letters, the Court concludes that the applicants may be regarded as no longer wishing to pursue the applications (Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention). Furthermore, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 in fine, the Court finds no special circumstances regarding respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto which require the continued examination of the applications.
In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the cases out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases.
Done in English and notified in writing on 5 October 2023.
Viktoriya Maradudina Faris Vehabović
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
Date of the
applicant’s
last
communication
to the Court
Date of
communication
of the
application to
the
Government
Date of the
Court’s
registered
letter
Time-limit
for submitting
response by the
applicant
Date of
return/delivery
of the
registered
letter
Date of the
applicant’s
release from prison
39679/16
01/08/2016
Cornel GHEORGHE
1970
24/01/2017
26/08/2021
06/07/2022
12/09/2022
11/07/2022
Delivered
Signed for by the Applicant’s brother
16/11/2016
50256/16
14/09/2016
Nicușor DUMBRAVĂ
1966
23/08/2017
26/08/2021
06/07/2022
12/09/2022
14/07/2022
Delivered
Signed for by the Applicant’s father
08/08/2017