FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 8530/20
Costel PETREA against Romania
and 19 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 21 May 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 LAW Joinder 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 by 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.
The Government also invoked other grounds of inadmissibility to argue that the present applications must be rejected. Since it has already upheld the Government’s objection on the non-exhaustion of domestic remedies, the Court does not consider it necessary to examine further any other arguments raised by the Government.
In view of the above, the Court finds that the applicants’ complaints concerning the periods set out in the appended table must be rejected for failure to exhaust the domestic remedy laid down in Article 56 of Law no. 254/2013, in accordance with Article 35 §§ 1 and 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 11 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
Representative’s name and location
Facility
Start and end date
Duration
8530/20
14/05/2020
Costel PETREA
1967
Constanța - Poarta Albă and Drobeta-Turnu Severin Prisons
15/08/2019 to
25/11/2021
2 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 11 day(s)
10468/20
02/09/2020
Gheorghe-Sorin PÎNTEA
1974
Giurgiu Prison
06/06/2019 to
28/12/2023
4 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 23 day(s)
19236/20
19/06/2020
Simion TRIFAN
1949
Vaslui, Bacău and Găești Prisons
14/02/2017 to
15/03/2022
5 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 2 day(s)
30080/20
29/09/2020
Mădălin IONEL
1982
Mioveni, Găești and Târgu Jiu Prisons
23/12/2019 to
20/05/2025
5 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 28 day(s)
843/21
23/07/2021
Marian NEACŞU
1976
Arad and Craiova-Pelendava Prisons
08/03/2016 to
27/06/2025
9 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 20 day(s)
4414/21
22/03/2021
Florică CREŢOIU
1967
Drobeta-Turnu Severin Prison
19/12/2019 to
29/10/2025
5 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 11 day(s)
4803/21
12/02/2021
Florin-Alin-Ionuţ STOICA
1992
Craiova-Pelendava, Arad and Iași Prisons
19/12/2019 to
12/10/2021
1 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 24 day(s)
21637/21
26/05/2021
Alexandru-Ştefan ZANFIR
1997
Bucharest-Rahova and Bucharest-Jilava Prisons
25/07/2019 to
03/04/2020
8 month(s) and 10 day(s)
Bucharest-Rahova and Bucharest-Jilava Prisons
18/09/2020 to
20/09/2022
2 year(s) and 3 day(s)
53661/21
08/10/2021
Dragoș-Marian MUNTEANU
1985
Craiova (including Pelendava) and Drobeta-Turnu Severin (including Vînjuleț) Prisons
15/12/2019 to
02/03/2023
3 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 16 day(s)
55621/21
24/03/2022
Daniel LAZĂR
1971
Mioveni and Găești Prisons
26/11/2020 to
24/08/2022
1 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 30 day(s)
61797/21
28/01/2022
Cosmin PANCU
1979
Satu Mare Prison
22/10/2021 to
11/07/2024
2 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 20 day(s)
9242/22
07/02/2022
Eufimie STANCU
1976
Olt County Police Station; Bucharest-Jilava Prison Hospital; Craiova Prison
14/07/2019 to
26/06/2025
5 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 13 day(s)
14844/22
19/04/2022
Eugen MIHAI
1984
Mihai Lucreția
Mogosani
Mărgineni, Mioveni and Găești Prisons
06/05/2021 to
28/12/2022
1 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 23 day(s)
26379/22
22/06/2022
Ioan VINCZE
1974
Drobeta-Turnu Severin (including Vânjuleț), Aiud, Arad, Ploiești and Timișoara Prisons
27/09/2020 to
25/02/2026
5 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 30 day(s)
26401/22
05/07/2022
Daniel-Florin DUCU
1997
Mihuta Laura
Arad
Craiova Detention Center (Barieră); Arad Prison
22/06/2015 to
03/02/2025
9 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 13 day(s)
44984/22
12/09/2022
Árpád KOVÁCS
1995
Aiud Prison
25/02/2021 to
01/01/2023
1 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 8 day(s)
45137/22
21/11/2022
Florin PUŞCAŞU
1981
Vaslui County Police Station; Vaslui and Focșani Prisons; Bucharest-Jilava Prison Hospital
06/11/2021 to
03/12/2025
4 year(s) and 28 day(s)
48791/22
15/11/2022
Ioan VANA
1970
Cluj County Police Station; Gherla and Baia Mare Prisons
12/08/2018 to
17/12/2025
7 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 6 day(s)
55683/22
25/11/2022
Marian-Ionuţ BĂLAN
1993
Vrancea County Police Station; Focșani and Ploiești Prisons
16/04/2015 to
07/02/2023
7 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 23 day(s)
57751/22
13/03/2023
Constantin ANGHEL
1992
Galați and Brăila Prisons
29/03/2022 to
23/05/2025
3 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 25 day(s)