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European Court of Human Rights
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> SIMULESCU AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA - 17090/15 (Judgment : Article 3 - Prohibition of torture : Fourth Section Committee) [2019] ECHR 431 (06 June 2019)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2019/431.html
Cite as: ECLI:CE:ECHR:2019:0606JUD001709015, CE:ECHR:2019:0606JUD001709015, [2019] ECHR 431
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FOURTH SECTION
CASE OF SIMULESCU AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA
( Application no. 17090/15and 8 other application s -
see appended list )
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
6 June 2019
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Simulescu and Others v. Romania ,
The European Court of Human Rights ( Fourth Section ), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Georges Ravarani,
President,
Marko Bošnjak,
Péter Paczolay,
judges,
and
Liv
Tigerstedt
Acting
Deputy Section Registrar
,
THE FACTS
3. The list of applicant s and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table. 4. The applicant s complained of the inadequate conditions of their detention . The applicant in application no. 17090/15also raised a complaint under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention concerning the excessive length of the criminal proceedings.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 applicant s 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 applicant s were kept in detention in poor conditions. The details of the applicant s ' 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. 42525/07and 60800/08, §§ 149 - 159, 10 January 2012). 8. In the leading case of Rezmiveș and Others v. Romania, nos. 61467/12and 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 applicant s ' conditions of detention were inadequate. 10. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.III. REMAINING COMPLAINT
11. In application no. 17090/15, the applicant also raised a complaint under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, arguing that the length of the criminal proceedings, which lasted from 17 July 2006 until 7 October 2014, was excessive and failed to meet the "reasonable time" requirement. 12. The Government pleaded non-exhaustion of domestic remedies under Article 35 § 1 of the Convention since the applicant had not pursued an action for tortious liability. 13. In the case of Brudan v. Romania (no. 75717/14, § 68, 10 April 2018), the Court held that following its judgment in the case of Vlad and Others v. Romania (nos. 40756/06, a nd 2 others, 26 November 2013), the action for tortious liability had been included by the domestic courts as an effective remedy to complain about the excessive length of proceedings, before both criminal and civil courts in Romania. In Brudan (cited above), the Court also found that the High Court for Cassation and Justice ' s judgment of 30 January 2014, which consolidated the domestic case-law on actions for tortious liability, had acquired a sufficient level of certainty on 22 March 2015. It therefore concluded that this remedy must be exhausted, as of that date, for the purposes of Article 35 § 1 of the Convention (see Brudan , cited above, § 88). 14. The present application was lodged with the Court on 6 April 2015, that is after 22 March 2015, and the applicant was therefore required by Article 35 § 1 of the Convention to avail himself of this domestic remedy (see Brudan , cited above, § 89). It appears from the case file that the applicant has not lodged an action for tortious liability before the domestic courts. 15. Accordingly, the Government ' s objection of failure to exhaust domestic remedies must be upheld. It follows that this complaint must be rejected as inadmissible pursuant to Article 35 §§ 1 and 4 of the Convention.IV. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
16. 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."
17. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case - law (see, in particular, Rezmiveș and Others v. Romania, nos. 61467/12and 3 others, 25 April 2017), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sum s indicated in the appended table. 18. 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 admissible, and the remainder of application no. 17090/15inadmissible;
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 applicant s , 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 6 June 2019 , pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Liv Tigerstedt Georges Ravarani
Acting D eputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention
( inadequate conditions of detention )
|
Application no. Date of introduction |
Applicant ' s name Date of birth
|
Representative ' s 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] | |
|
|
06/04/2015 |
Claudiu Simulescu 06/12/1970 |
Anelis-Vanina Istrătescu, Bucharest |
Rahova Prison 07/10/2014 to 14/08/2015 10 months and 8 days |
|
lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food, inadequate temperature, inadequate conditions of detention during transport |
1,000 |
|
|
19/11/2015 |
Petre-Cătălin Racolţea 28/01/1978 |
Mannix-Mihai Racolțea, S ă cele |
Codlea, Mărgineni, Miercurea Ciuc Prisons, Rahova Prison Hospital 26/04/2011 pending More than 7 years, 11 months and 3 days |
1.10-2.65 m² |
overcrowding, no or restricted access to potable water, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities, poor quality of food |
5,000 |
|
|
25/02/2016 |
Constantin-Daniel Vlădescu 12/08/1978 |
|
Olt Police, Craiova, Drobeta Turnu Severin and Pelendava Prisons and Colibași Prison Hospital 24/02/1998 pending More than 21 years, 1 month and 3 days
|
1.2 - 2.94 m² |
overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, inadequate temperature, bunk beds, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to shower, lack or insufficient quantity of food |
5,000 |
|
|
11/02/2016 |
Constantin Năstase 27/11/1979 |
Irina Maria Peter, Bucharest |
Rahova, Giurgiu, Jilava and Găești Prisons 15/02/2008 to 13/01/2016 7 years, 10 months and 30 days |
1.2- 2.73 m² |
Overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, no or restricted access to potable water, inadequate temperature, lack or insufficient quantity of food |
5,000 |
|
|
16/03/2016 |
David Andronic 15/02/1992 |
|
Aiud Prison 24/10/2013 to 27/04/2018 4 years, 6 months and 4 days |
1.64-2.6 m² |
overcrowding, inadequate temperature, poor quality of food |
3,000 |
|
|
09/03/2016 |
Vasile Pop 11/05/1959 |
|
Gorj Police, T â rgu Jiu, Craiova and Drobeta Turnu Severin Prisons 19/10/2015 to 11/11/2017 2 years and 24 days |
1.20-2.86 m² |
overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of toiletries, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate furniture, lack or insufficient quantity of food, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air |
3,000 |
|
|
25/03/2016 |
Neculai Lupu 23/04/1974 |
Irina Maria Peter, Bucharest |
Focșani Police and Focșani, Galați, Jilava, Iași and Poarta Albă Prisons 16/10/2006 pending More than 12 years, 5 months and 12 days |
1.3-2.89 m² |
overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to shower, poor quality of food, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of potable water, inadequate temperature
|
5,000 |
|
|
05/04/2016 |
Bogdan Iftimie 22/11/1988 |
|
Bucharest Police Section no 6 17/02/2014 to 04/03/2014 16 days
Rahova, Ia ş i, Jilava, Vaslui and Bac ă u Prisons 04/03/2014 to 18/11/2016 2 years, 8 months and 15 days
|
2.3 m²
1.28-2.93 m² |
overcrowding
overcrowding, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack or insufficient quantity of food |
3,000 |
|
|
30/05/2016 |
Alexandru Barbu 12/01/1979 |
|
Coliba ş i, M ă rgineni, Slobozia, Miercurea-Ciuc and Giurgiu Prisons 05/03/2003 pending More than 16 years and 21 days |
1.27-2.79 m² |
overcrowding, lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack or insufficient quantity of food |
5,000 |
[1] . Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.