FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 18203/14
Szilárd RAJKAI against Hungary
and 7 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 11 October 2018 as a Committee composed of:
Georges Ravarani, President,
Marko Bošnjak,
Péter Paczolay, 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 Hungarian Government (“the Government”). Some of the applicants also raised a complaint under Article 13 of the Convention concerning the lack of effective remedy in domestic law in respect of their poor conditions of detention.
THE LAW
A. Joinder 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.
B. Complaints under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention
In the present applications, having examined all the material before it, the Court considers that for the reasons stated below, these complaints are inadmissible.
In particular, the Court notes that the newly introduced domestic remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention in Hungary was held to be an effective one in the case of Domján v. Hungary ((dec.), no. 5433/17, 14 November 2017). This remedy was available to the applicants and, indeed, used by them. Thus, the Court notes that the applicants’ grievances were examined by the domestic authorities on two levels of jurisdiction according to the procedure described in the Domján decision (cited above). Those authorities took into account the duration of the time spent in, and the inconveniences sustained in relation to, the inadequate conditions of detention and awarded compensation accordingly. The applicants are nevertheless dissatisfied with the awards.
The Court observes that the amounts were calculated by the domestic authorities in accordance with the compensation scheme contemplated in the Domján decision (cited above). 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 Articles 3 and 13 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 8 November 2018.
Liv TigerstedtGeorges Ravarani
Acting Deputy RegistrarPresident
APPENDIX
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Date of birth
Representative
Facility
Start and end date
Duration
Sq. m. per inmate
Specific grievances
Domestic award
(in euros)
Other complaints under well-established case-law
18203/14
24/02/2014
Szilárd Rajkai
02/01/1980
Fahidi Gergely
Budapest
Budapest Correctional Facility, Block III. ("Maglódi/Venyige")
19/04/2011 to 15/10/2012
1 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 27 day(s)
Budapest Prison
15/10/2012 to19/05/2014
1 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 5 day(s)
Márianosztra Prison
19/05/2014
pending
More than 4 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 30 day(s)
3.75 m²
2.6 m²
2.4 m²
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell, infestation of the cell with insects
6,400
Article 13 –lack of an effective domestic remedy
42558/14
29/04/2014
András Balogh
11/04/1971
Patócs Ilona
Tapolca
Pálhalma Prison, Sándorháza Block
21/03/2012 to 07/10/2014
2 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 17 day(s)
2.8 m²
5 euros/day
45763/14
17/06/2014
Victor Gabor
20/06/1987
Fahidi Gergely
Budapest
Budapest Prison
13/08/2013 to 16/10/2014
1 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 4 day(s)
2,6 m²
no proper separation of toilet, cockroaches, bedbugs
8,500
Article 13 –lack of an effective domestic remedy
49247/14
03/07/2014
Elemér Rostás
23/12/1982
Fahidi Gergely
Budapest
Budapest Prison, Block "A"
11/04/2011 to 06/10/2014
3 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 26 day(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "B"
06/10/2014
pending
More than 3 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 12 day(s)
2,6 m²
2,5 m²
no proper separation of toilet, cockroaches, bedbugs, only cold water in cell
shower only once a week, cockroaches, bedbugs
13,300
Article 13 –lack of an effective domestic remedy
59015/14
21/08/2014
Róbert László Jakubinyi
28/05/1953
Fahidi Gergely
Budapest
Budapest Prison, Block "A"
01/07/2013 to 20/06/2014
11 month(s) and 20 day(s)
2,6 m²
no proper separation of toilet, shower only once a week, cockroaches, bedbugs, only cold water in cell
1,800
59989/14
25/08/2014
Heinz Dietmar Georg Busch
17/06/1983
Szabo Kalman
Győr
Győr-Moson-Sopron County Prison
20/07/2007 to 25/03/2008
8 month(s) and 6 day(s)
Győr-Moson-Sopron County Prison
31/03/2008 to 04/02/2009
10 month(s) and 5 day(s)
Győr-Moson-Sopron County Prison
17/02/2009 to 12/03/2009
24 day(s)
Győr-Moson-Sopron County Prison
19/03/2009 to 25/05/2009
2 month(s) and 7 day(s)
Győr-Moson-Sopron County Prison
31/08/2009 to 05/10/2009
1 month(s) and 6 day(s)
Győr-Moson-Sopron County Prison
04/01/2010 to 04/06/2010
5 month(s) and 1 day(s)
Győr-Moson-Sopron County Prison
02/07/2010 to 10/09/2010
2 month(s) and 9 day(s)
Győr-Moson-Sopron County Prison and Sopronkőhida Prison
13/09/2010 to 28/04/2011
7 month(s) and 16 day(s)
Sopronkőhida Prison and Győr-Moson-Sopron County Prison
19/08/2011 to 05/09/2011
18 day(s)
Sopronkőhida Prison and Győr-Moson-Sopron County Prison
26/08/2012 to 08/10/2012
1 month(s) and 13 day(s)
Sopronkőhida Prison and Győr-Moson-Sopron County Prison
06/02/2014 to 24/02/2014
19 day(s)
Győr-Moson-Sopron County Prison
14/07/2014 to 28/07/2014
15 day(s)
2 m²
2.5 m²
2.6 m²
2.3 m²
2 m²
2.6 m²
2.9 m²
2.3 m²
2 m²
2.6 m²
2.6 m²
2.6 m²
only cold water in cell, no proper separation of toilet, cockroaches, bedbugs
only cold water in cell, no proper separation of toilet, cockroaches, bedbugs
only cold water in cell, no proper separation of toilet, cockroaches, bedbugs
only cold water in cell, no proper separation of toilet, cockroaches, bedbugs
only cold water in cell, no proper separation of toilet, cockroaches, bedbugs
only cold water in cell, no proper separation of toilet, cockroaches, bedbugs
only cold water in cell, no proper separation of toilet, cockroaches, bedbugs
only cold water in cell, no proper separation of toilet, cockroaches, bedbugs
only cold water in cell, no proper separation of toilet, cockroaches, bedbugs
only cold water in cell, no proper separation of toilet, cockroaches, bedbugs
only cold water in cell, no proper separation of toilet, cockroaches, bedbugs
only cold water in cell, no proper separation of toilet, cockroaches, bedbugs
7,000
14937/15
19/03/2015
Andrea Vizi
07/09/1972
Kalló Péter
Budapest
Bács-Kiskun County Prison and Kalocsa Prison
30/03/2011 to 27/03/2015
3 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 28 day(s)
2.2 m²
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell
2,200
20025/15
06/03/2015
Tamás Fulai
26/04/1993
Cech András
Budapest
Szeged Prison
06/12/2012 to 10/01/2013
1 month(s) and 5 day(s)
Juvenile Correctional Facility, Kecskemét
04/02/2013 to 12/03/2013
1 month(s) and 9 day(s)
Juvenile Correctional Facility, Tököl and Szeged Prison
22/04/2013 to 18/11/2013
6 month(s) and 28 day(s)
Juvenile Correctional Facility, Tököl and Szeged Prison
26/11/2013 to 19/09/2014
9 month(s) and 25 day(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "B"
22/09/2014 to 13/10/2014
22 day(s)
Szeged Prison
15/10/2014
pending
More than 3 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 3 day(s)
2.4 m²
2.5 m²
3.1 m²
2.5 m²
2.5 m²
2.5 m²
infestation of the cell with insects
infestation of the cell with insects
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell, infestation of the cell with insects
only cold water in cell
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell, only cold water in cell
3,700
Article 13 –lack of an effective domestic remedy
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