FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 19749/16
Doru-Sorin PIŞCOCI against Romania
and 7 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 29 September 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 (nos. 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.
Done in English and notified in writing on 22 October 2020.
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
19749/16
04/05/2016
Doru-Sorin PIŞCOCI
15/12/1970
Codlea and Rahova Prisons
23/04/2015 to 24/11/2016
1 year and 7 months and 3 days
192 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 23/04/2015 - 06/02/2018
19754/16
03/05/2016
Nicolae-Dorin VUCU
27/06/1969
Arad Prison
19/10/2015 to 19/07/2016
9 months
90 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 25/09/2015 - 19/10/2017
20691/16
16/08/2016
Emanoil LEPĂDATU
24/06/1950
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Rahova and Jilava Prisons
03/11/2014 to 02/04/2018
3 years and 4 months and 29 days
270 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 03/11/2014 - 03/08/2018
21232/16
09/05/2016
Cristian-Alexandru CRĂCIUN
14/01/1990
Oradea, Iași and Vaslui Prisons
20/02/2015 to 22/07/2016
1 year and 5 months and 1 day
210 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 20/02/2015 - 21/02/2018
23709/16
28/11/2016
Ionel-Doru CĂLINA
14/05/1971
Craiova Prison
14/05/2014 to 09/07/2017
3 years and 1 month and 26 days
246 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 14/05/2014 - 19/12/2017
27975/16
11/08/2016
Viorel BURLACU
18/04/1987
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Galaţi and Brăila Prisons
06/10/2013 to 04/09/2018
4 years and 10 months and 30 days
426 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 16/10/2012 - 04/09/2018
42831/16
01/10/2016
Aurel MĂGĂLĂU
08/07/1963
Vasile Rareș Biro
Satu Mare
Baia Mare Prison
18/05/2016 to 14/11/2017
1 year and 5 months and 28 days
102 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 18/05/2016 - 14/11/2017
44500/16
26/07/2016
Gabi BALTĂ
25/02/1962
Ionela Mărgărit
Bucharest
Galaţi, Gherla and Brăila Prisons
04/03/2015 to 05/12/2017
2 years and 9 months and 2 days
198 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 04/03/2015 - 05/12/2017
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy