FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 40347/22
Petre-Alexandru MAVRODIN against Romania
and 9 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 4 June 2026 as a Committee composed of:
Anne Louise Bormann, President,
András Jakab,
Corinna Wissels, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications against Romania lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table,
Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government and the observations in reply submitted by the applicant,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDUREThe 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 LAWJoinder 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.
Having examined all the material before it, the Court considers that for the reasons stated below, the present applications are inadmissible.
The Government argued that the applicants had failed to exhaust the available effective remedies for the complaints about the inadequate conditions of their detention, as the action in tort had become an effective remedy for grievances similar to those of the applicants, allowing them to have the violation of the Convention acknowledged, either explicitly or in substance, and to receive adequate and sufficient compensation at domestic level. The Government expressly referred to Vlad v. Romania (dec.), no. 122/17, 15 November 2022, either directly in their observations or in a subsequent letter and invited the Court to declare the cases inadmissible.
The Court recalls that in Polgar v. Romania, no. 39412/19, §§ 94‑96, 20 July 2021, it held that an action in tort, based on Articles 1349 and 1357 of the Romanian Civil Code, as interpreted consistently by the national courts, had represented since 13 January 2021 an effective remedy for individuals who considered that they had been subjected to inadequate conditions of detention, and who were no longer being held in conditions that were allegedly contrary to the Convention. Subsequently, in Vlad, cited above, §§ 24‑32, the Court considered it appropriate to apply an exception to the general principle that the effectiveness of a given remedy was to be assessed with reference to the date on which the application was lodged.
For all the above reasons and in the light of all the material in its possession, since the applicants ceased to be held in conditions of detention that were allegedly contrary to the Convention after the moment when the tort action had been considered as representing an effective remedy (see, mutatis mutandis, Polgar, § 96 and Vlad, § 23, both cited above; see the appended table for further details), but did not inform the Court of having brought such an action before the domestic courts, their applications must be dismissed for failure to exhaust domestic remedies.
In the light of the foregoing, the Court considers that these complaints must be dismissed on the ground that the domestic remedies had not been exhausted, pursuant to Article 35 §§ 1 and 4 of the Convention.
Remaining complaintsIn application no. 40347/22, the applicant also raised another complaint under Article 3 of the Convention, in relation to the same period of detention.
The Court has examined the application 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, this complaint does not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention.
It follows that this part of the application 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 25 June 2026.
Viktoriya Maradudina Anne Louise Bormann
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
Facility
Start and end date
Duration
40347/22
03/10/2022
Petre-Alexandru MAVRODIN
1997
Tulcea Prison
05/12/2019 to
11/01/2023
3 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 7 day(s)
40746/22
19/09/2022
Mihai-Alexandru VASILE
1986
Slobozia and Tulcea Prisons
12/10/2021 to
11/05/2023
1 year(s) and 7 month(s)
42678/22
21/10/2022
Bobby KARABA
1994
Baia Mare Prison
06/06/2022 to
04/06/2024
1 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 30 day(s)
51743/22
03/01/2023
Vasile RĂZVAN
1997
Galați and Brăila Prisons
06/12/2019 to
02/07/2025
5 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 27 day(s)
53774/22
16/01/2023
Cristian MIHALACHE
1978
Bucharest - Jilava and Găești Prisons
23/12/2019 to
18/07/2025
5 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 26 day(s)
55415/22
22/12/2022
Mihai PLATON
1975
Bucharest Police Detention Facility no. 22, Bucharest‑Rahova,
Miercurea Ciuc and Botoșani Prisons
17/06/2020 to
04/11/2025
5 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 19 day(s)
57932/22
30/01/2023
Gheorghe SLABU
1973
Bacău, Miercurea Ciuc and Vaslui Prisons
04/04/2022 to
18/02/2024
1 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 15 day(s)
517/23
02/02/2023
Ionel RAICIU
1963
Focşani, Mărgineni and Brăila Prisons
07/02/2019 to
03/07/2024
5 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 27 day(s)
26402/23
20/07/2023
Andrei-Robert VĂDUVA
1985
Bucharest‑Rahova and Bucharest‑Jilava Prisons, Bucharest‑Jilava and Bucharest‑Rahova Prison Hospitals
02/12/2022 to
18/02/2026
3 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 17 day(s)
35489/23
25/10/2023
Dumitru BĂLINEANU
1970
Botoșani, Târgu Jiu, Slobozia, Gherla and Oradea Prisons
01/01/2020 to
02/02/2026
6 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 2 day(s)