FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 41217/16
Ionel-Constantin ŞERB against Romania
and 8 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 19 November 2020 as a Committee composed of:
Armen Harutyunyan, President,
Jolien Schukking,
Ana Maria Guerra Martins, 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 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 about 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 mainly 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 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, that 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 case and, indeed, they benefitted from it. In particular, 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 in that part 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.Remaining complaints
In applications nos. 51512/16 and 60263/16 the applicants also raised complaints under Article 3 of the Convention in relation to periods of detention preceding the start date specified in the appended table.
The Court has examined these applications 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, these complaints do not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Article 35 § 1 of the Convention as they were lodged outside the six-month time-limit.
It follows that this part of applications nos. 51512/16 and 60263/16 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 10 December 2020.
Liv TigerstedtArmen Harutyunyan
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
Year of birth
Representative’s name and location
Facility
Start and end date
Duration
Domestic compensation awarded (in days) based on total period calculated domestically
41217/16
12/08/2016
Ionel-Constantin ŞERB
1981
Tulcea Prison
01/08/2013 to 04/05/2017
3 years and 9 months and 4 days
522 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 24/07/2012-23/12/2019 (date when the compensatory remedy was repelled)
42133/16
23/08/2016
Vasile-Radu GABRIAN
1973
Rahova Prison
17/05/2016 to 21/07/2017
1 year and 2 months and 5 days
162 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 17/05/2016-21/07/2017 (date when he was transferred to a facility he does not complain of)
44634/16
13/02/2017
Silviu CORBEANU
1966
Slobozia, Poarta Alba and Valu Lui Traian Prisons
15/03/2015 to 17/05/2018
3 years and 2 months and 3 days
216 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 15/03/2015-17/05/2018 (date when he was transferred to a facility he does not complain of)
44941/16
01/11/2016
Cankut CANTÜRK
1991
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Giurgiu County Police Inspectorate and the Giurgiu Prison
18/06/2015 to 25/11/2016
1 year and 5 months and 8 days
240 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 18/06/2015-08/11/2018 (date when he was transferred to a facility he does not complain of)
46526/16
23/08/2016
Alexandru Iulian SIMION
1989
Harry Otvos
Timisoara
Codlea and Miercurea Ciuc Prisons
03/02/2016 to 27/04/2016
2 months and 25 days
Codlea and Miercurea Ciuc Prison
23/06/2016 to 23/01/2019
2 years and 7 months and 1 day
204 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 04/01/2016-27/04/2016 and 23/06/2016-23/01/2019 (date of the applicant’s release)
49775/16
08/11/2016
Adrian CIURARU
1992
Irina Maria Peter
Bucharest
Bucharest Police Station no. 4 and Rahova Prison
02/03/2016 to 17/11/2017
1 year and 8 months and 16 days
180 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 02/03/2016-14/09/2018 (date of the applicant’s release)
51512/16
29/12/2016
Nelu Leon MARINICĂ
1974
Claudia Nadina Daciana Cândea
Timisoara
Timișoara Prison
17/06/2016 to 09/03/2019
2 years and 8 months and 21 days
198 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 17/06/2016-09/03/2019 (date of the applicant’s release)
55494/16
20/02/2017
Zoltan ROSTAȘ
1964
Biro Vasile Rareș
Satu Mare
Maramureș County Police and Gherla and Baia Mare Prisons
02/07/2015 to 23/10/2018
3 years and 3 months and 22 days
234 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 02/07/2015-23/10/2018 (date of the applicant’s release)
60263/16
11/10/2016
Olimpiu MOLDOVAN
1984
Biro Vasile Rareș
Satu Mare
Satu Mare, Salaj, Baia Mare, Gherla, Jilava and Oradea Prisons
04/12/2015 to 16/05/2018
2 years and 5 months and 3 days
390 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 24/07/2012-16/05/2018 (date of the applicant’s release)
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