FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 45707/09
Aleksey ZARETSKIY against Russia
and four other applications
(see list appended)
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 2 July 2013 as a Committee composed of:
Khanlar Hajiyev, President,
Julia Laffranque,
Dmitry Dedov, judges,
and André Wampach, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the dates listed in the appendix,
Having regard to the declarations submitted by the Government and the applicants’ acceptance of their terms,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
1. A list of the applicants is set out in the appendix.
2. The Russian Government (“the Government”) were represented by Mr G. Matyushkin, the Representative of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights.
3. The applicants complained, in particular, about the conditions of their detention in Russian penitentiary facilities.
4. By their letters dated 13 and 19 March 2013, the Government informed the Court that they proposed to make a declaration with a view to resolving the issue raised by the applications. They acknowledged that the applicants had been “detained in the conditions which did not comply with the requirements of Article 3 of the Convention” and stated their readiness to pay the following amounts to the applicants as just satisfaction: 5,125 euros (EUR) to Mr Zaretskiy, EUR 5,500 to Mr Dzhanayev, EUR 10,750 to Mr Pavlov, EUR 25,125 to Mr Polonskiy, and EUR 10,000 to Mr Sekretarev. The payment was to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage, together with any costs and expenses incurred, as well as any tax that may be chargeable. It would be effected within a period of three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court. In the event of failure to pay within that period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on it, from expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points. The payment would constitute the final resolution of the cases.
5. In their letters of 15 and 22 April and 2 and 7 May 2013, the applicants informed the Court that they agreed to the terms of the Government’s declarations.
THE LAW
6. Having regard to the similarity of the main issues under the Convention in the above cases, the Court decides to join the applications and examine them in a single decision.
7. The Court considers that the applicants’ agreement to the terms of the declarations made by the Government shall be considered as a friendly settlement between the parties (see Cēsnieks v. Latvia (dec.), no. 9278/06, § 34, 6 March 2012, and Bakal and Others v. Turkey (dec.), no. 8243/08, 5 June 2012).
8. The Court therefore takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the applications.
9. In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the cases out of the list in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention.
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Decides to join the applications,
Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention.
André WampachKhanlar Hajiyev
Deputy RegistrarPresident
Appendix
No
Application No
Lodged on
Applicant
Date of birth
Place of residence
Represented by
45707/09
15/06/2009
Aleksey Anatolyevich ZARETSKIY
18/04/1984
Tomsk
52744/09
10/09/2009
Soslan Elbrusovich DZHANAYEV
24/10/1976
St Petersburg
52899/09
25/08/2009
Nikolay Anatolyevich PAVLOV
03/05/1962
Sosonivyy Bor
57914/09
21/09/2009
Aleksandr Viktorovich POLONSKIY
27/09/1968
Volgograd
16151/11
31/01/2011
Ivan Sergeyevich SEKRETAREV
15/07/1982
Kharp
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy