FOURTH SECTION

CASE OF BOTA AND OTHERS v. HUNGARY

(Application no. 34753/12 and 12 other applications -
see appended list)

JUDGMENT

STRASBOURG

10 December 2015

This judgment is final. It may be subject to editorial revision.

In the case of Bota and Others v. Hungary,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
	Vincent A. De Gaetano, President,
	Egidijus Kūris,
	Gabriele Kucsko-Stadlmayer, judges,
and Hasan Bakırcı Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 19 November 2015,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
1.  The case originated in applications against Hungary lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table.
2.  The applications were communicated to the Hungarian Government (“the Government”). The Hungarian Government (“the Government”) were represented by Mr Z. Tallódi, Agent, Ministry of Justice.
THE FACTS
THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE
3.  The list of applicants, their representatives and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.
4.  The applicants complained of the inadequate conditions of their detention and of the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law.
THE LAW
I.  JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS
5.  Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.
II.  ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLES 3 AND 13 OF THE CONVENTION
6.  The applicants complained of the inadequate conditions of their detention and that they had no effective remedy in this connection. They relied on Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention, which read as follows:
Article 3
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Article 13
“Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in this Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority...”
7.  The Court notes that the applicants were kept in detention in poor conditions. The details of the applicants’ detention are indicated in the appended table. The Court refers to the principles established in its case‑law regarding inadequate conditions of detention (see, for instance, Kudła v. Poland [GC], no. 30210/96, §§ 90‑94, ECHR 2000‑XI, and Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 139‑165, 10 January 2012). It reiterates in particular that extreme lack of space in a prison cell or overcrowding weighs heavily as an aspect to be taken into account for the purpose of establishing whether the impugned detention conditions were “degrading” from the point of view of Article 3 and may disclose a violation, both alone or taken together with other shortcomings (see, amongst many authorities, Karalevičius v. Lithuania, no. 53254/99, §§ 36‑40, 7 April 2005).
8.  In the leading case of Varga and Others v. Hungary (nos. 14097/12, 45135/12, 73712/12, 34001/13, 44055/13, and 64586/13, 10 March 2015), the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.
9.  Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility and merits of these complaints. Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the applicants’ conditions of detention were inadequate.
10.  The Court further notes that the applicants did not have at their disposal an effective remedy by which to submit their complaints concerning their conditions of detention.
11.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention.
III.  APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
12.  Article 41 of the Convention provides:
“If the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party.”
13.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Varga and Others v. Hungary, nos. 14097/12, 45135/12, 73712/12, 34001/13, 44055/13, and 64586/13, 10 March 2015), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.
14.  The Court considers it appropriate that the default interest rate should be based on the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank, to which should be added three percentage points.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,
1.  Decides to join the applications;

2.  Declares the applications admissible;

3.  Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention and the absence of an effective remedy;

4.  Holds
(a)  that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, within three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;
(b)  that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
Done in English, and notified in writing on 10 December 2015, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
	  Hasan Bakırcı	Vincent A. De Gaetano
Acting Deputy Registrar	President

APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention
(inadequate conditions of detention and lack of any effective remedy in domestic law)
No.	Application no.
Date of introduction	Applicant name
Date of birth
	Representative name and location	Facility
Start and end date
Duration	Sq. m. per inmate	Specific grievances	Amount awarded for non-pecuniary damage
per applicant
(in euros)	Amount awarded for costs and expenses per application
(in euros)	
1.		34753/12
31/05/2012	Sándor BOTA
12/03/1978	Karsai Dániel András
Budapest	Budapest Correctional Facility, Block III. ("Maglódi/Venyige")
25/07/2010 to
16/08/2010
0 year(s) and 1 month(s)

Balassagyarmat Prison
07/09/2010 to
16/12/2010
0 year(s) and 4 month(s)

Budapest Prison, Block "B"
16/12/2010
pending
4 year(s) and 9 month(s)
	3.75 m²

2.6 m²

2.7 m²
	shower only once a week

no proper separation of toilet

cockroaches, bedbugs
	17,500	300	
2.		34754/12
31/05/2012	Zsolt MARTIN
01/06/1975	Karsai Dániel András
Budapest	Budapest Prison
08/08/2003 to
19/12/2005
2 year(s) and 5 month(s)

Szeged Prison
19/12/2005 to
06/06/2006
0 year(s) and 6 month(s)

Budapest Prison
06/06/2006 to
09/10/2012
6 year(s) and 5 month(s)

Márianosztra Prison
09/10/2012 to
01/12/2013
1 year(s) and 2 month(s)

Vác Prison
01/12/2013
pending
1 year(s) and 10 month(s)
	1.9 m²

3.1 m²

3.3 m²

2.5 m²

2 m²	

	26,000	300	
3.		45140/12
10/07/2012	András Tibor VARGA
03/03/1978	Karsai Dániel András
Budapest	Márianosztra Prison and Prison Hospital, Tököl
14/01/2008 to
06/10/2008
0 year(s) and 9 month(s)

Budapest Correctional Facility, Block I. ("Nagy Ignác/Markó") and Márianosztra Prison
06/10/2008 to
06/04/2010
1 year(s) and 7 month(s)

Budapest Prison and Győr-Moson-Sopron County Prison
06/04/2010
pending
5 year(s) and 6 month(s)
	3,1 m²

2.6 m²

3 m²
	no proper separation of toilet

no proper separation of toilet

no proper separation of toilet
	25,500	300	
4.		45848/12
10/07/2012	Miklós CSICSÁK
11/02/1971	Karsai Dániel András
Budapest	Békés County Prison
29/09/2005 to
28/08/2007
1 year(s) and 11 month(s)

Budapest Prison, Block "A"
29/08/2007 to
01/05/2012
4 year(s) and 9 month(s)

Budapest Prison, Block "B"
01/05/2012 to
17/07/2012
0 year(s) and 3 month(s)
	2.1 m²

2.4 m²

3.3 m²
	no proper separation of toilet

	22,800	300	
5.		48473/12
25/07/2012	Vendel BODA
24/06/1946	Karsai Dániel András
Budapest	Baranya County Prison
10/12/2004 to
26/06/2005
0 year(s) and 7 month(s)

Budapest Prison
27/06/2005
pending
10 year(s) and 3 month(s)
	1.9 m²

3.1 m²
	no proper separation of toilet, shower only once a week

no proper separation of toilet
	26,000	300	
6.		56357/12
24/08/2012	Imre FARKAS
26/05/1987	Fahidi Gergely
Budapest	Budapest Correctional Facility, Block I. ("Nagy Ignác/Markó")
24/05/2008 to
16/06/2008
0 year(s) and 1 month(s)

Budapest Prison, Block "A"
30/07/2009 to
25/02/2011
1 year(s) and 7 month(s)

Budapest Prison, Block "B"
25/02/2011 to
01/06/2012
1 year(s) and 4 month(s)

Budapest Prison, Block "A"
01/06/2012 to
11/08/2014
2 year(s) and 3 month(s)
	2,6 m²

2.6 m²

3,1 m²

2.6 m²
	bedbugs

no proper separation of toilet, only cold water in cell, shower only once a week, bedbugs, no proper ventilation in the cell

bedbugs

no proper separation of toilet, only cold water in cell, shower only once a week, bedbugs, no proper ventilation in the cell
	17,800	300	
7.		56362/12
24/08/2012	László Csaba VÉTEK
05/03/1979	Karsai Dániel András
Budapest	Budapest Prison "A" Block
27/12/2011 to
23/01/2012
0 year(s) and 1 month(s)

Budapest Prison "B" Block
23/01/2012 to
01/06/2012
0 year(s) and 5 month(s)

Budapest Prison "A" Block
01/06/2012
pending
3 year(s) and 4 month(s)
	2,6 m²

3,25 m²

3 m²
	no proper separation of toilet, only cold water in cell

no proper separation of toilet, only cold water in cell

no proper separation of toilet, only cold water in cell
	13,500	300	
8.		56368/12
27/08/2012	István MEGYERI
11/10/1974	
	Állampuszta Prison
10/06/2008 to
15/11/2010
2 year(s) and 6 month(s)

Budapest Prison, Block "B"
15/11/2010 to
01/06/2012
1 year(s) and 7 month(s)

Budapest Prison, Block "A"
01/06/2012
pending
3 year(s) and 4 month(s)
	2.8 m²

2.8 m²

2.6 m²
	only cold water in cell, bedbugs, cockroaches

only cold water in cell, bedbugs, cockroaches

only cold water in cell, bedbugs, cockroaches, no proper separation of toilet
	24,300		
9.		58632/12
06/09/2012	Kálmán GULYÁS
01/04/1968	
	Budapest Prison, Block "B"
22/07/2011 to
20/11/2011
0 year(s) and 4 month(s)

Budapest Prison, Block "A"
20/11/2011 to
11/10/2013
1 year(s) and 11 month(s)

	3.2 m²

2.6 m²

no proper separation of toilet
	8,800		
10.		72055/12
26/10/2012	Sándor CSEMER
07/06/1981	Fahidi Gergely
Budapest	Budapest Correctional Facility, Block III. ("Maglódi/Venyige")
23/04/2009 to
23/07/2009
0 year(s) and 4 month(s)
Budapest Prison, Block "A"
23/07/2009 to
18/02/2011
1 year(s) and 7 month(s)

Baracska Prison
18/02/2011 to
10/07/2011
0 year(s) and 5 month(s)

Budapest Prison, Block "B"
11/08/2011
pending
4 year(s) and 1 month(s)
	3.75 m²

2.6 m²

2.9 m²

3.1 m²
	shower only once a week, bedbugs

no proper separation of toilet, shower only once a week, cockroaches, bedbugs

shower only once a week, cockroaches, bedbugs

bedbugs, only cold water in cell
	21,300	300	
11.		73195/12
09/11/2012	Péter SZABÓ
04/03/1975	
	Budapest Prison
21/09/2010 to
16/12/2013
3 year(s) and 3 month(s)
	2.7 m²
	no proper separation of toilet, shower only once a week, only cold water in cell
	11,800		
12.		76492/12
20/11/2012	Elemér SZTOJKA-BIHARI
20/09/1966	
	Baracska Prison
06/08/2008 to
10/12/2014
6 year(s) and 5 month(s)

	2 m²
	
	21,300		
13.		79146/12
04/12/2012	Krisztián GÁL
12/05/1975	Fahidi Gergely
Budapest	Budapest Correctional Facility, Block I. ("Nagy Ignác/Markó"), Vác Prison and Budapest Prison
21/01/2012 to
01/04/2014
2 year(s) and 3 month(s)

Budapest Correctional Facility, Block I. ("Nagy Ignác/Markó")
09/04/2014 to
05/05/2014
0 year(s) and 1 month(s)

Budapest Prison, Block "B"
05/05/2014
pending
1 year(s) and 5 month(s)
	3.2 m²

2.3 m²

2.7 m²
	no proper separation of toilet, shower only once a week, cockroaches

shower only once a week, cockroaches

	13,300	300