FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 20106/15
Harry ŐTVÖS against Romania
and 8 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 9 July 2020 as a Committee composed of:
Stéphanie Mourou-Vikström, President,
Georges Ravarani,
Jolien Schukking, judges,
and Liv Tigerstedt, 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 and the observations in reply submitted by the applicants,
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 LAWJoinder of the applications
Having 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 pleaded that the applicants had lost their victim status due to the fact that 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 to them had not been sufficient.
The Court notes that, in its recent 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 3 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 on the term of the prison sentences giving the detainees the 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 their admissibility. 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 described 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).
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. It follows that the applications 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.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Declares the applications inadmissible.
Liv TigerstedtStéphanie Mourou-Vikström
Acting Deputy RegistrarPresident
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
Date of birth
Representative’s name and location
Facility
Start and end date
Duration
Domestic compensation awarded (in days) based on total period calculated domestically
20106/15
25/08/2015
Harry ŐTVÖS
21/06/1978
Miercurea Ciuc Prison
01/01/2013 to 10/03/2017
4 years, 2 months, 8 days
426 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 24/07/2012 – 29/01/2019
61202/15
17/03/2016
Adrian ARDELEANU
28/04/1987
Covasna Country Police and Codlea Prison
19/06/2015 to 18/04/2016
9 months, 30 days
84 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 19/06/2015 – 18/04/2016 and 25/10/2017 – 12/04/2018
904/16
15/12/2015
Dumitru-Essan ISTRATIE
03/03/1990
Carmen Codoban
Targu-Jiu
Craiova Prison
28/09/2014 to 18/04/2017
2 years and 5 months and 13 days
276 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 28/09/2014 - 16/10/2018
4906/16
13/01/2016
Sorin GHEORGHE
11/05/1982
Codlea Prison
02/09/2014 to 03/01/2017
2 years and 4 months and 2 days
396 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 24/07/2012 – 20/03/2018
7158/16
09/03/2016
Paul-Sorin MIHALACHE
18/02/1988
Rahova and Colibași Prisons
31/03/2015 to 21/08/2018
3 years, 5 months, 1 day
264 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 31/03/2015 - 21/12/2018
8468/16
04/03/2016
Costin Alexandru MINCU
20/05/1992
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Bucarest Police detention facilities nos. 1 and 3, Rahova and Jilava Prisons
14/01/2015 to 19/10/2017
2 years, 9 months, 5 days
192 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 14/01/2015 -19/10/2017
9613/16
19/04/2016
Mugurel CHITIC
11/07/1962
Iași, Tulcea, Vaslui Prisons
20/02/2015 to 15/11/2017
2 years and 8 months and 27 days
198 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 21/01/2015 – 15/11/2017
15670/16
18/04/2016
Janos VARGA
30/03/1993
Codlea and Miercurea Ciuc Prisons
06/03/2015 to 24/05/2018
3 years and 2 months and 19 days
264 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 10/03/2014 – 04/08/2014 and 06/03/2015 – 24/05/2018
18010/16
18/04/2016
Liviu PREDA
23/08/1956
Baia Mare Country Police and Gherla Prison
10/03/2015 to 05/01/2017
1 year and 9 months and 27 days
210 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 10/03/2015 – 14/02/2018
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy