IVAN AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA - 35486/15 (Judgment : Article 3 - Prohibition of torture : Fourth Section Committee) [2018] ECHR 663 (26 July 2018)

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Cite as: ECLI:CE:ECHR:2018:0726JUD003548615, CE:ECHR:2018:0726JUD003548615, [2018] ECHR 663

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FOURTH SECTION

CASE OF IVAN AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA

(Application no. 35486/15 and 13 others -

see appended list)

JUDGMENT

STRASBOURG

26 July 2018

This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.

In the case of Ivan 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,

Having deliberated in private on 5 July 2018,

Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:

PROCEDURE

1. The case originated in applications against Romania 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 Romanian Government ("the Government").

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.

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 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, Muršić 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 Muršić, cited above, §§ 122 -�141, and Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 149-159, 10 January 2012).

8. In the leading case of Rezmiveș 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, as well as the Government's objection concerning the continuous situations of the applicants' condition of detention in some of the cases, 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. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION

11. 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."

12. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its
case-law (see, in particular, Rezmiveș and Others v. Romania, nos. 61467/12 and 3 others, 25 April 2017), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.

13. 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 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 26 July 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 pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1]
35486/15 11/02/2016	Florin Ivan 07/04/1983		Penitentiaries of Rahova and Jilava 28/03/2015 to 26/01/2017 1 year and 9 months and 30 days	1.79-2.53 m²	overcrowding (save for the period from 21/12/2015 to 26/01/2017), no or restricted access to shower, bunk beds, no or restricted access to potable water, poor quality of food, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, infestation of cell with insects/rodents	3,000
56374/15 08/03/2016	Constantin Agîţei-Arhip 12/05/1978		Bacău Police Inspectorate 20/03/2003 to 04/08/2003 4 months and 16 days Penitentiaries of Bacău, Jilava, Arad, Vaslui, Iași and Tulcea 05/08/2003 to 17/11/2015 and 01/04/2016 to 23/08/2017 13 years and 8 months and 6 days	1.66 m² 1.28-2.25 m²	overcrowding, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to toilet overcrowding (save for the periods from 19/03/2007 to 12/04/2007, 02/05/2007 to 30/05/2007, 08/06/2007 to 24/06/2007 and 11/09/2007 to 25/09/2007, 05/08/2011 to 13/08/2012, 21/08/2012 to 29/04/2013, 18/12/2013 to 20/12/2013, 24/01/2014 to 23/12/2014, 30/01/2015 to 07/04/2015, 17/04/2015 to 05/05/2015, 26/06/2015 to 29/06/2015, 20/08/2015 to 17/11/2015, 17/06/2016 to 06/09/2016 and 06/10/2016 to 30/06/2017), bunk beds, insufficient number of sleeping places	5,000
58147/15 07/04/2016	Gheorghe Fira 10/11/1968		Penitentiaries of Craiova, Drobeta Turnu Severin and Pelendava and Jilava Penitentiary Hospital 04/09/2013 to 12/07/2016 2 years and 10 months and 9 days	1.53 - 2.12 m²	overcrowding (save for the period from 09/05/2014 to 12/07/2016), bunk beds, lack or inadequate furniture, poor quality of food, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to shower	3,000
61179/15 02/12/2015	Marius-Claudiu Nechitescu 24/07/1973	Cosmin Gavrilaș Oradea	Penitentiaries of Timișoara, Jilava, Aiud, Deva, Oradea, Arad, Gherla and Târgu Mureș 27/03/1996 to 24/08/2015 19 years and 4 months and 29 days	1.5-2.6 m²	overcrowding (save for the period from 25/07/2011 to 03/01/2013), poor quality of food, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents	5,000
61700/15 05/08/2016	Nicolae Șerban 07/05/1974	Irina Maria Peter Bucharest	Mureș Police Inspectorate, Dej Penitentiary Hospital, Penitentiaries of Târgu Mureș and Aiud 18/03/2013 - pending More than 5 years and 2 months and 11 days	1.53-2.39 m²	overcrowding (save for the periods from 18/11/2013 to 19/11/2013, 18/07/2014 to 12/09/2914, 26/09/2014 to 07/03/2016, 25/03/2016 to 19/07/2016 and 01/08/2016 to present), infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food, lack or insufficient quantity of food, inadequate temperature, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities	5,000
62712/15 18/04/2016	Virgil Țifescu 29/12/1981	Irina Maria Peter Bucharest	Penitentiaries of Focșani, Galați, Iași, Giurgiu and Jilava 25/11/2010 to 16/06/2016 5 years and 6 months and 23 days	1.28-2.24 m²	overcrowding (save for the periods from 06/08/2012 to 23/08/2012, 15/11/2012 to 29/05/2015, 04/03/2016 to 16/06/2016), lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack or inadequate furniture, inadequate temperature (Penitentiaries of Focșani and Giurgiu), lack of fresh air (Penitentiaries of Focșani and Giurgiu), lack or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air (Galați Penitentiary), poor quality of potable water (Jilava Penitentiary)	5,000
1847/16 05/07/2016	Dumitru Ilie 02/01/1961		Colibași Penitentiary 19/11/2015 to 23/08/2017 1 year and 9 months and 5 days	1.9-2.03 m²	overcrowding, poor quality of food, lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air	3,000
3794/16 11/08/2016	Lucian Ciobanu 08/01/1982		Mărgineni Penitentiary 28/05/2015 to 09/09/2016 1 year and 3 months and 13 days	1.02 - 2.71 m²	overcrowding (save for the periods from 06/11/2015 to 27/11/2015 and 02/03/2016 to 09/09/2016), lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of storing facilities, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air	3,000
3800/16 11/08/2016	Nicolae-Dan Ciobanu 05/08/1980		Mărgineni Penitentiary 28/05/2015 to 09/09/2016 1 year and 3 months and 13 days	1.02-2.71 m²	overcrowding (save for the periods from 06/11/2015 to 27/11/2015 and 02/03/2016 to 09/09/2016), lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of storing space, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of potable water, poor quality of food, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities	3,000
5114/16 17/06/2016	Ion Voican 14/09/1980	Ioana Letiția Pătru Sibiu	Penitentiaries of Codlea, Jilava, Mărgineni, Gherla, Miercurea Ciuc, Deva and Bistrița 08/06/2000 to 09/03/2016 15 years and 9 months and 2 days	1.23-2.81 m²	overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack or inadequate furniture, inadequate temperature	5,000
6542/16 04/07/2016	Vasile Croitoru 25/04/1969	Lacrima-Cristina Stan Cluj-Napoca	Penitentiaries of Focșani, Jilava, Rahova and Gherla 12/07/2012 - pending More than 5 years and 10 months and 25 days	1.02-2.79 m²	overcrowding (save for the periods from 16/11/2012 to 22/11/2012, 19/03/2013 to 25/03/2013, 05/08/2013 to 02/09/2013, 15/10/2013 to 25/10/2013, 13/01/2015 to 19/01/2015, 10/03/2015 to 19/03/2015, 03/04/2015 to 13/05/2015 and 01/07/2016 to 05/07/2016), infestation of cell with insects/rodents, bunk beds, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of fresh air, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, no or restricted access to potable water (Jilava Penitentiary)	5,000
7259/16 17/08/2016	Marian-Marius Dragne 14/06/1979		Dâmbovița Police Inspectorate, Jilava Penitentiary Hospital and Penitentiaries of Mărgineni, Rahova, Slobozia, Giurgiu, Jilava, Poarta Albă and Găești 26/07/2011 to 25/10/2016 5 years and 3 months	1.17 - 2.91 m²	overcrowding (save for the periods from 26/07/2011 to 03/08/2011, 26/08/2011 to 02/09/2011, 24/10/2013 to 04/03/2014 and 12/05/2016 to 25/10/2016), lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air	5,000
16823/16 04/07/2016	Alexandru Gheață 12/01/1985		Gorj Police Inspectorate and Penitentiaries of Târgu Jiu, Rahova, Giurgiu and Craiova 06/12/2007 to 11/04/2016 8 years and 4 months and 6 days Craiova Penitentiary 21/07/2016 - pending More than 1 year and 10 months and 15 days	1.19-2.33 m² 1.19-2.33 m²	overcrowding (save for the periods from 06/12/2007 to 27/05/2008 and 30/03/2010 to 01/04/2010), infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of storing facilities, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack or inadequate furniture, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air	5,000
16905/16 02/08/2016	Stelian Niță 11/06/1977		Craiova Penitentiary 16/12/2015 to 19/12/2016 1 year and 4 days	1.39-1.91 m²	overcrowding (save for the periods from 16/12/2015 to 08/01/2016, 21/09/2016 to 14/10/2016 and 12/12/2016 to 19/12/2016), lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of storing facilities, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air	3,000

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 pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant

(in euros)[1]

35486/15

11/02/2016

Florin Ivan

07/04/1983

Penitentiaries of Rahova and Jilava

28/03/2015 to 26/01/2017

1 year and 9 months and 30 days

1.79-2.53 m²

overcrowding (save for the period from 21/12/2015 to 26/01/2017), no or restricted access to shower, bunk beds, no or restricted access to potable water, poor quality of food, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, infestation of cell with insects/rodents

3,000

56374/15

08/03/2016

Constantin Agîţei-Arhip

12/05/1978

Bacău Police Inspectorate

20/03/2003 to 04/08/2003

4 months and 16 days

Penitentiaries of Bacău, Jilava, Arad, Vaslui, Iași and Tulcea

05/08/2003 to 17/11/2015

and

01/04/2016 to 23/08/2017

13 years and 8 months and 6 days

1.66 m²

1.28-2.25 m²

overcrowding, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to toilet

overcrowding (save for the periods from 19/03/2007 to 12/04/2007, 02/05/2007 to 30/05/2007, 08/06/2007 to 24/06/2007 and 11/09/2007 to 25/09/2007, 05/08/2011 to 13/08/2012, 21/08/2012 to 29/04/2013, 18/12/2013 to 20/12/2013, 24/01/2014 to 23/12/2014, 30/01/2015 to 07/04/2015, 17/04/2015 to 05/05/2015, 26/06/2015 to 29/06/2015, 20/08/2015 to 17/11/2015, 17/06/2016 to 06/09/2016 and 06/10/2016 to 30/06/2017), bunk beds, insufficient number of sleeping places

5,000

58147/15

07/04/2016

Gheorghe Fira

10/11/1968

Penitentiaries of Craiova, Drobeta Turnu Severin and Pelendava and Jilava Penitentiary Hospital

04/09/2013 to 12/07/2016

2 years and 10 months and 9 days

1.53 - 2.12 m²

overcrowding (save for the period from 09/05/2014 to 12/07/2016), bunk beds, lack or inadequate furniture, poor quality of food, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to shower

3,000

61179/15

02/12/2015

Marius-Claudiu Nechitescu

24/07/1973

Cosmin Gavrilaș

Oradea

Penitentiaries

of Timișoara, Jilava, Aiud, Deva, Oradea, Arad, Gherla and Târgu Mureș

27/03/1996 to 24/08/2015

19 years and 4 months and 29 days

1.5-2.6 m²

overcrowding (save for the period from 25/07/2011 to 03/01/2013), poor quality of food, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents

5,000

61700/15

05/08/2016

Nicolae Șerban

07/05/1974

Irina Maria Peter

Bucharest

Mureș Police Inspectorate, Dej Penitentiary Hospital,

Penitentiaries of Târgu Mureș and Aiud

18/03/2013 - pending

More than
5 years and 2 months and 11 days

1.53-2.39 m²

overcrowding (save for the periods from 18/11/2013 to 19/11/2013, 18/07/2014 to 12/09/2914, 26/09/2014 to 07/03/2016, 25/03/2016 to 19/07/2016 and 01/08/2016 to present), infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food, lack or insufficient quantity of food, inadequate temperature, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities

5,000

62712/15

18/04/2016

Virgil Țifescu

29/12/1981

Irina Maria Peter

Bucharest

Penitentiaries

of Focșani, Galați, Iași, Giurgiu and Jilava

25/11/2010 to 16/06/2016

5 years and 6 months and 23 days

1.28-2.24 m²

overcrowding (save for the periods from 06/08/2012 to 23/08/2012, 15/11/2012 to 29/05/2015, 04/03/2016 to 16/06/2016), lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack or inadequate furniture, inadequate temperature (Penitentiaries of Focșani and Giurgiu), lack of fresh air (Penitentiaries of Focșani and Giurgiu), lack or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air (Galați Penitentiary), poor quality of potable water (Jilava Penitentiary)

5,000

1847/16

05/07/2016

Dumitru Ilie

02/01/1961

Colibași Penitentiary

19/11/2015 to 23/08/2017

1 year and 9 months and 5 days

1.9-2.03 m²

overcrowding, poor quality of food, lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air

3,000

3794/16

11/08/2016

Lucian Ciobanu

08/01/1982

Mărgineni Penitentiary

28/05/2015 to 09/09/2016

1 year and 3 months and 13 days

1.02 - 2.71 m²

overcrowding (save for the periods from 06/11/2015 to 27/11/2015 and 02/03/2016 to 09/09/2016), lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of storing facilities, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air

3,000

3800/16

11/08/2016

Nicolae-Dan Ciobanu

05/08/1980

Mărgineni Penitentiary

28/05/2015 to 09/09/2016

1 year and 3 months and 13 days

1.02-2.71 m²

overcrowding (save for the periods from 06/11/2015 to 27/11/2015 and 02/03/2016 to 09/09/2016), lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of storing space, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of potable water, poor quality of food, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities

3,000

5114/16

17/06/2016

Ion Voican

14/09/1980

Ioana Letiția Pătru

Sibiu

Penitentiaries

of Codlea, Jilava, Mărgineni, Gherla, Miercurea Ciuc, Deva and Bistrița

08/06/2000 to 09/03/2016

15 years and 9 months and 2 days

1.23-2.81 m²

overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack or inadequate furniture, inadequate temperature

5,000

6542/16

04/07/2016

Vasile Croitoru

25/04/1969

Lacrima-Cristina Stan

Cluj-Napoca

Penitentiaries of Focșani, Jilava, Rahova and Gherla

12/07/2012 - pending

More than
5 years and 10 months and 25 days

1.02-2.79 m²

overcrowding (save for the periods from 16/11/2012 to 22/11/2012, 19/03/2013 to 25/03/2013, 05/08/2013 to 02/09/2013, 15/10/2013 to 25/10/2013, 13/01/2015 to 19/01/2015, 10/03/2015 to 19/03/2015, 03/04/2015 to 13/05/2015 and 01/07/2016 to 05/07/2016), infestation of cell with insects/rodents, bunk beds, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of fresh air, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, no or restricted access to potable water (Jilava Penitentiary)

5,000

7259/16

17/08/2016

Marian-Marius Dragne

14/06/1979

Dâmbovița Police Inspectorate, Jilava Penitentiary Hospital and Penitentiaries of Mărgineni, Rahova, Slobozia, Giurgiu, Jilava, Poarta Albă and Găești

26/07/2011 to 25/10/2016

5 years and 3 months

1.17 - 2.91 m²

overcrowding (save for the periods from 26/07/2011 to 03/08/2011, 26/08/2011 to 02/09/2011, 24/10/2013 to 04/03/2014 and 12/05/2016 to 25/10/2016), lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air

5,000

16823/16

04/07/2016

Alexandru Gheață

12/01/1985

Gorj Police Inspectorate and Penitentiaries of Târgu Jiu, Rahova, Giurgiu and Craiova

06/12/2007 to 11/04/2016

8 years and 4 months and 6 days

Craiova Penitentiary

21/07/2016 - pending

More than
1 year and 10 months and 15 days

1.19-2.33 m²

overcrowding (save for the periods from 06/12/2007 to 27/05/2008 and 30/03/2010 to 01/04/2010), infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of storing facilities, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack or inadequate furniture, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air

5,000

16905/16

02/08/2016

Stelian Niță

11/06/1977

Craiova Penitentiary

16/12/2015 to 19/12/2016

1 year and 4 days

1.39-1.91 m²

overcrowding (save for the periods from 16/12/2015 to 08/01/2016, 21/09/2016 to 14/10/2016 and 12/12/2016 to 19/12/2016), lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of storing facilities, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air

3,000

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