European Court of Human Rights

 

 

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)[i]	Amount awarded for costs and expenses per application (in euros)[ii]
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

 

 




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[i] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.

[ii] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.