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European Court of Human Rights
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> BALASESCU AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA - 694/14 (Judgment : Article 3 - Prohibition of torture : Fourth Section Committee) [2018] ECHR 146 (08 February 2018)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2018/146.html
Cite as: ECLI:CE:ECHR:2018:0208JUD000069414, CE:ECHR:2018:0208JUD000069414, [2018] ECHR 146
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FOURTH SECTION
CASE OF BÄ‚LÄ‚ÅžESCU AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA
(Application no. 694/14 and 16 others -
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
8 February 2018
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Bălăşescu and Others v. Romania,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:Vincent A. De Gaetano, President,
Georges Ravarani,
Marko Bošnjak, judges,
and Liv Tigerstedt Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
THE FACTS
3. The list of applicants 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. Some applicants also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention.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 ARTICLE 3 OF THE CONVENTION
6. The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of their detention. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows:Article 3
"No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
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, MurÅ¡ić v. Croatia [GC], no. 7334/13, §§ 96-‘101, ECHR 2016). It reiterates in particular that a serious lack of space in a prison cell weighs heavily as a factor to be taken into account for the purpose of establishing whether the detention conditions described are "degrading" from the point of view of Article 3 and may disclose a violation, both alone or taken together with other shortcomings (see MurÅ¡ić, cited above, §§ 122 -‘141, and Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 149-‘159, 10 January 2012).8. In the pilot case of RezmiveÈ™ and Others v. Romania, nos. 61467/12 and 3 others, 25 April 2017, 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. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.III. REMAINING COMPLAINTS
11. The applicants in applications nos. 54933/14, 57680/14, 77203/14, 56479/16 also raised other complaints under Articles 3, 8 and 14 of the Convention.12. The Court has examined the applications listed in the appended table 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.IV. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
13. 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."
14. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case-‘law (see, in particular, RezmiveÈ™ and Others, cited above), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.15. 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 complaints concerning the inadequate conditions of detention, as set out in the appended table, admissible, and the remainder of the applications nos. 54933/14, 57680/14, 77203/14, 56479/16 inadmissible;
3. Holds that these complaints disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention;
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 8 February 2018, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Liv TigerstedtVincent A. De Gaetano
Acting Deputy RegistrarPresident
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention
(inadequate conditions of detention)
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)[1] | |
14/12/2013 | Maximilian-Ion Bălăşescu 14/08/1972 |
| Bucharest Police Arrest Centre no. 1 01/02/2012 to 17/07/2012 5 month(s) and 17 day(s)
Rahova Penitentiary 17/07/2012 to 26/07/2013 1 year(s) and 10 day(s)
Jilava Penitentiary 26/07/2013 to 16/03/2015 1 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 19 day(s) | 1.76 m²
2.7 m²
| overcrowding, lack of privacy for toilet, infestation of cell with insects/rodents
overcrowding, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water
no or restricted access to shower | 3,000 | |
11/03/2015 | George-Constantin Păun 14/07/1973 |
| Jilava and Giurgiu Penitentiaries 12/10/2006 to 13/09/2016 9 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 2 day(s)
| 1.1-2.7 m² | overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to potable water, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack or inadequate furniture, poor quality of food, lack of privacy for toilet | 5,000 | |
30/09/2014 | Doru Anghel 22/07/1977 |
| Arad Penitentiary 22/12/2010 to 07/02/2014 3 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 17 day(s)
Timișoara Penitentiary 07/02/2014 to 04/02/2015 11 month(s) and 29 day(s) | 3,4 m²
1,8 - 2,6 m² | poor quality of food, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities
overcrowding, shoe crafting and storing in the cell (increased overcrowding), constant noise from the hydraulic press beneath the cell, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents
| 3,000 | |
05/08/2014 | Rudel Obreja 06/08/1965 | Onuța Igor București | Bucharest XV Police Section 04/02/2014 to 05/03/2014 1 month(s) and 2 day(s)
Bucharest Police Arrest Centre no. 1 05/02/2015 to 18/02/2015 14 day(s)
Bucharest Police Arrest Centre no. 7 (Police Precinct no. 12) 18/02/2015 to 28/04/2015 2 month(s) and 11 day(s) | 4 m²
2.45 m²
2.75 m² | overcrowding, poor quality of food, lack of privacy for toilet, mouldy or dirty cell, inadequate temperature, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of fresh air, bunk beds, lack of hygienic conditions for storage of personal items
overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, lack or inadequate furniture, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air
overcrowding, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents | 1,000 | |
06/11/2015 | |||||||
24/09/2014 | Daniel-Cătălin Oancea 24/01/1971 |
| Colibași Penitentiary 08/12/2014 to 09/11/2016 1 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 2 day(s) | 1.7-2.9 m² | Overcrowding (save for the period of 05/11/2015 - 08/02/2016), poor quality of food, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air | 3,000 | |
21/11/2014 | Petre Gabriel Liutic 31/05/1973 |
| Constanța Police Inspectorate 31/03/2011 to 14/06/2011 2 month(s) and 15 day(s)
Poarta-Albă, Rahova and Slobozia Penitentiaries 14/06/2011 to 12/01/2016 4 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 30 day(s) |
1.6-2.4 m² | poor hygienic conditions
Overcrowding (save for the period of 14/06/2011 - 31/07/2012, 17/12/2012 and 12/06/2013 - 12/01/2016), lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to running water, inadequate temperature, lack of or insufficient natural light, constant electric light, poor quality of food, nor or restricted access to potable water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, infestation of cells with insects/rodents | 3,000 | |
14/01/2015 | Constantin CodruÈ› Groza 19/02/1977 |
| Sălaj Police Inspectorate, Satu-Mare, Gherla, Aiud, Jilava and Oradea Penitentiaries 03/03/2006 - 14/11/2017 11 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 12 day(s) | 1.3 - 2.8 m² | overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to running water, lack of or insufficient natural light, poor quality of food, constant electric light, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, insufficient number of sleeping places, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or insufficient exercise in fresh air, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities, lack of fresh air | 5,000 | |
04/09/2015 | Vasile Andrei 10/12/1972 | Ioniță Natașa București | Jilava Penitentiary 03/02/2014 to 30/12/2016 2 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 28 day(s) | 1.1-2.2 m² | overcrowding, poor quality of food, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to potable water, infestation of cell with insects/rodents | 3,000 | |
25/08/2015 | Costică Avram 12/09/1966 |
| Arad Police Inspectorate, Arad and Satu-Mare Penitentiaries 19/06/2014 - 07/11/2017 3 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 20 day(s) | 1.3-1.9 m² | Overcrowding (save for the period of 19/06/2014 - 30/07/2015), lack of sanitary facilities in the cell, insects, poor quality of food, lack of fresh air and natural light, insufficient out-of-cell time | 3,000 | |
24/09/2015 | Andrei-Costel Milea 23/11/1989 |
| Bacău Police Inspectorate, Bacău, Rahova, Focșani, Iași and Vaslui Penitentiaries 25/02/2013 pending More than 4 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 4 day(s) | 1.2 - 2.7 m² | overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food, lack of or inadequate furniture, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise, no or restricted access to running water during summer | 3,000 | |
01/10/2015 | Ovidiu Mazureac 02/01/1990 |
| Timișoara Penitentiary 26/05/2015 to 07/11/2016 1 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 13 day(s) | 2.2 - 2.5 m² | overcrowding, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack or inadequate furniture, small courtyard | 3,000 | |
27/10/2015 | Cristian-Dragoș Roșu 26/05/1976 | Balteș Beatrice-Irina București | Bucharest Police Section no 4, Rahova, Giurgiu and Jilava Penitentiaries 06/03/2011 pending More than 6 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 26 day(s) | 1.5-2.3 m² | Overcrowding (all but Giurgiu Penitentiary) (save for the period of 06/11/2015 - 05/01/2017), insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to running water during summer, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air | 5,000 | |
08/12/2016 | Dumitru-Jan Dicu 20/09/1980 |
| Râmnicu-Vâlcea Police Inspectorate, Târgu-Jiu, Colibași Penitentiaries 03/12/2013 to 24/11/2016 2 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 22 day(s) | 1.2 - 2.9 m² | overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, lack or inadequate furniture, poor quality of food, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to warm water | 3,000 | |
12/12/2016 | Cristian Țandea 05/05/1984 | Mitreanu Alexandru Cluj-Napoca | Gherla, Baia-Mare Penitentiaries 22/09/2015 to 05/07/2016 9 month(s) and 14 day(s) | 1.5 - 2.3 m² | overcrowding, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of fresh air, poor quality of food, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to running water, no or restricted access to warm water | 1,000 | |
15/12/2016 | Mohmad Ammar Alshek Ali 02/05/1982 | Mărgărit Ionela București | Bucharest Police Central Department, Rahova, Giurgiu, Jilava Penitentiaries 14/05/2014 to 11/10/2016 2 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 28 day(s) | 1.6 - 2.7 m² | Overcrowding (save for the periods of 14/10/2014 - 06/02/2015, 10/04 - 04/08/2015, 09/09/2015 - 04/03/2016), lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, lack or inadequate furniture, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient natural light, unpleasant smell in the cell due to the manufacturing of shoes | 3,000 | |
15/12/2016 | Hassan Haidar 18/08/1982 | Mărgărit Ionela București | Bucharest Police Central Department, Rahova, Giurgiu, Jilava Penitentiaries 14/05/2014 to 15/06/2016 2 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 2 day(s) | 1.6 - 2.7 m² | Overcrowding (save for the period of 14/10/2014 - 06/02/2015), lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or insufficient natural light, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to warm water, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack or inadequate furniture | 3,000 |
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.