FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 7331/16
Laurențiu-Daniel TUDOREANU against Romania
and 14 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 19 May 2022 as a Committee composed of:
Armen Harutyunyan, President,
Jolien Schukking,
Ana Maria Guerra Martins, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, 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,
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 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, which reads as follows:
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
The Government argued mainly that the applicants had lost their victim status because 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 was insufficient.
The Court notes that in the 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 because 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, was an effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention in Romanian prisons. More specifically, the above law 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). That benefit had an impact on the term of the prison sentences, giving detainees an 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 the admissibility of those complaints. 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 laid down 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). Furthermore, the applicants were released from prison or were transferred to detention facilities they are not complaining about.
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, insofar as the conditions of their detention, described in the appended table, are concerned. It follows that the applications in this 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 complaintsSome applicants also raised other complaints under Article 3 of the Convention.
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 either do not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention or do not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Convention or the Protocols thereto.
It follows that this part of the applications 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 9 June 2022.
Viktoriya Maradudina Armen Harutyunyan
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
Domestic compensation awarded (in days) based on total period calculated domestically
7331/16
27/07/2016
Laurențiu-Daniel TUDOREANU
1973
Iași, Giurgiu and Vaslui Prisons
29/05/2015 to
02/02/2018
2 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 5 day(s)
Vaslui Prison
16/02/2018 to
05/04/2018
1 month(s) and 21 day(s)
516 days in compensation for a total period of 2,607 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 22/12/2019, including all the periods spent in Iași, Giurgiu and Vaslui Prisons lodged within the six-month time-limit
15489/16
09/09/2016
Petronel BUDEANU
1975
Iași Prison
17/04/2015 to
24/04/2015
8 day(s)
Iași Prison
30/04/2015 to
12/12/2017
2 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 13 day(s)
Iași Prison
22/12/2017 to
11/01/2019
1 year(s) and 21 day(s)
Iași Prison
16/10/2019 to
30/10/2019
15 day(s)
360 days in compensation for a total period of 1,803 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 10/07/2014 to 22/12/2019, including all the periods spent in Iași Prison lodged within the six-month time-limit
17861/16
05/09/2016
Otto-Andrei BOROS
1988
Vasile Rareş Biro
Satu Mare
Satu Mare County Police Station; Satu Mare, Oradea and Baia Mare Prisons
11/02/2015 to
31/10/2016
1 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 21 day(s)
Baia Mare, Satu Mare and Oradea Prisons
11/11/2016 to
12/07/2017
8 month(s) and 2 day(s)
Satu Mare Prison
17/04/2018 to
23/08/2018
4 month(s) and 7 day(s)
Satu Mare Prison
11/09/2018 to
15/01/2019
4 month(s) and 5 day(s)
384 days in compensation for a total period of 1,661 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 11/02/2015 to 12/07/2017 and from 17/04/2018 to 15/01/2019, including all the periods spent in the detention facilities he complains of
19343/16
20/09/2016
Ștefan-Gheorghe MARIN
1987
Bucharest - Rahova Prison
21/05/2013 to
07/01/2014
7 month(s) and 18 day(s)
Bucharest - Rahova and Mioveni (Colibași) Prisons
10/01/2014 to
11/05/2015
1 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 2 day(s)
Bucharest - Rahova and Mioveni (Colibași) Prisons
03/06/2015 to
09/10/2015
4 month(s) and 7 day(s)
Mioveni (Colibași) and Bucharest - Rahova Prisons
15/10/2015 to
09/11/2015
26 day(s)
Bucharest - Rahova and Bucharest - Jilava Prisons
12/11/2015 to
23/06/2018
2 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 12 day(s)
336 days in compensation for a total period of 1,686 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 20/04/2013 to 23/06/2018, except for periods spent in infirmary or prison hospitals
27804/16
03/11/2016
Lucian BOZÎNTAN
1992
Vasile Rareş Biro
Satu Mare
Satu Mare Prison
08/04/2016 to
31/10/2017
1 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 24 day(s)
216 days in compensation for a total period of 1,088 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 03/10/2014 to 31/10/2017, including all the period spent in Satu Mare Prison lodged within the six-month time-limit
32012/16
08/08/2016
Gavriel GALIU
1976
Satu Mare County Police Station; Satu Mare, Oradea, Miercurea Ciuc and Gherla Prisons
20/12/2014 to
04/11/2015
10 month(s) and 16 day(s)
Gherla, Miercurea Ciuc, Codlea and Satu Mare Prisons
02/12/2015 to
03/05/2018
2 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 2 day(s)
234 days in compensation for a total period of 1,194 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 20/12/2014 to 04/11/2015 and from 02/12/2015 to 03/05/2018
35988/16
07/11/2016
Marius PANFILE
1986
Galați and Brăila Prisons
03/02/2015 to
26/10/2015
8 month(s) and 24 day(s)
Brăila and Constanța - Poarta Albă Prisons
30/10/2015 to
17/09/2019
3 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 19 day(s)
510 days in compensation for a total period of 2,552 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 17/09/2019, including all the periods spent in Galați, Brăila and Constanța - Poarta Albă Prisons between 03/02/2015 and 17/09/2019
36465/16
16/06/2016
Vasile PRICOB
1962
Bucharest - Rahova Prison
28/10/2015 to
12/11/2015
16 day(s)
Bucharest - Rahova, Giurgiu and Bucharest - Jilava Prisons
19/11/2015 to
26/07/2018
2 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 8 day(s)
Bucharest - Jilava Prison
28/08/2018 to
03/10/2018
1 month(s) and 6 day(s)
Bucharest - Jilava Prison
09/11/2018 to
03/12/2018
25 day(s)
Bucharest - Jilava Prison
21/12/2018 to
22/07/2019
7 month(s) and 2 day(s)
Bucharest - Jilava Prison
29/07/2019 to
13/12/2019
4 month(s) and 15 day(s)
276 days in compensation for a total period of 1,388 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 28/10/2015 to 13/12/2019, including the periods spent in Bucharest - Rahova, Giurgiu and Bucharest - Jilava Prisons, except for the period 12/11/2015 - 19/11/2015 spent in Bucharest - Jilava Prison Hospital
41176/16
12/08/2016
Gheorghe MARINESCU
1962
Andreea-Gabriela Cadar
Galați
Bucharest - Jilava and Bucharest - Rahova Prisons
27/11/2015 to
05/12/2016
1 year(s) and 9 day(s)
Bucharest - Jilava Prison
12/12/2016 to
01/11/2017
10 month(s) and 21 day(s)
138 days in compensation for a total period of 699 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 27/11/2015 to 01/11/2017, except for the period 05/12/2016 - 12/12/2016 spent in Mioveni Prison Hospital, of which he did not complain
46474/16
26/08/2016
George-Alin CONSTANTIN
1973
Mărgineni, Bucharest - Rahova, Oradea, Bucharest - Jilava, Ploiești and Găești Prisons
24/09/2012 to
20/12/2017
5 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 27 day(s)
378 days in compensation for a total period of 1,902 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 24/09/2012 to 20/12/2017, except for short periods spent in transit rooms
48172/16
13/12/2016
Octavian POPA
1990
Bucharest - Rahova Prison
02/02/2016 to
01/09/2017
1 year(s) and 7 month(s)
Bucharest - Rahova Prison
15/06/2018 to
26/07/2018
1 month(s) and 12 day(s)
Bucharest - Rahova Prison
13/08/2018 to
27/08/2018
15 day(s)
Bucharest - Rahova Prison
30/08/2018 to
19/09/2018
21 day(s)
186 days in compensation for a total period of 957 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 02/02/2016 to 19/09/2018, except for the period 10/10/2017 - 12/10/2017 spent in
Bucharest - Jilava Prison Hospital, of which he did not complain
49447/16
11/08/2016
Zoro TAGARICIU
1991
Ionela Mărgărit
Bucharest
Galați and Brăila Prisons
11/08/2015 to
10/01/2018
2 year(s) and 5 month(s)
216 days in compensation for the total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 20/05/2014 to 20/11/2014 and from 30/06/2015 to 10/01/2018, including all the periods spent in Galați and Brăila Prisons during this time
54365/16
11/10/2016
Petre BARBU
1991
Drobeta-Turnu Severin and Timișoara Prisons
03/04/2015 to
19/10/2017
2 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 17 day(s)
180 days in compensation for a total period of 928 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 03/04/2015 to 19/10/2017
2522/17
29/12/2016
Marian BĂLĂUCĂ
1986
George Bogdan Pocovnicu
Bacău
Bucharest - Rahova and Iași Prisons
05/11/2014 to
30/12/2016
2 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 26 day(s)
Iași Prison
09/01/2019 to
12/04/2019
3 month(s) and 4 day(s)
360 days in compensation for a total period of 1,823 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 05/11/2014 to 10/12/2019, including the periods spent in Bucharest - Rahova and Iași Prisons indicated in column no. 5, except for the periods
21/09/2018 - 26/09/2018 and 12/04/2019 - 15/04/2019 spent in transit rooms of Iași Prison
15385/19
06/03/2019
Vasile CORNEA
1982
Târgu Jiu Prison
20/09/2018 to
16/05/2019
7 month(s) and 27 day(s)
90 days in compensation for a total period of 457 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 20/09/2018 to 22/12/2019, including all the period spent in Târgu Jiu Prison