European Court of Human Rights

 

 

 

FOURTH SECTION

CASE OF PĂDURARIU AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA

(Application no. 37813/15 and 12 others –

see appended list)

 

 

 

 

 

JUDGMENT

 

STRASBOURG

13 January 2022

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

In the case of Pădurariu and Others v. Romania,

The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:

          Armen Harutyunyan, President,
          Jolien Schukking,
          Ana Maria Guerra Martins, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 9 December 2021,

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 Romanian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the applications.

THE FACTS

3.  The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.

4.  In application no. 39773/16, on 20 August 2020 the applicant notified the Court that he had changed his name from Vinogruschi to Hassan. The Court advised the parties that it would continue processing the application under the case name of Vinogruschi v. Romania. This corresponded to the applicant’s name as referred to in his application lodged with the Court.

5.  The applicants complained of the inadequate conditions of their detention.

THE LAW

I.        JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS

6.  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

7.  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.”

8.  The Government raised a preliminary objection concerning loss of victim status by some of the applicants for the periods of detention specified in the appended table because they were afforded adequate redress based on Law no. 169/2017 amending and completing Law no. 254/2013 on the execution of sentences for those specific periods of detention.

9.  The Court notes that the domestic remedy introduced in respect of inadequate conditions of detention in Romania and applicable until December 2019 was held to be an effective one in the case of Dîrjan and Ştefan v. Romania ((dec.), nos. 14224/15 and 50977/15, §§ 23-33, 15 April 2020). This remedy was available to the applicants in the present applications and they were, indeed, afforded adequate redress for certain periods of detention (for details see the appended table).

10.  Therefore, the Court accepts the Government’s objection and finds that these parts of the applications are incompatible ratione personae with the provisions of the Convention and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the Convention.

11.  Turning to the remaining periods of the applicants’ detention as specified in the appended table, 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, §§ 122‑41, and Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 149‑59, 10 January 2012).

12.  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.

13.  Having examined all the material submitted to it and the arguments raised by the parties, including the Government’s objection related to the non‑exhaustion of domestic remedies in some 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 (including its findings in the recent case of Polgar v. Romania, no. 39412/19, §§ 94-97, 20 July 2021), the Court considers that in the instant cases the applicants’ conditions of detention, as described in the table appended below, were inadequate.

14.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.

III.   REMAINING COMPLAINTS

15.  In applications nos. 31001/16, 38447/16, 47983/16, 78413/16 and 4786/20, the applicants also raised other complaints under Article 3 of the Convention.

16.  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

17.  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.”

18.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Rezmiveș and Others, cited above), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.

19.  The Court further 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, for the periods specified in the appended table, admissible, and the remainder of the applications inadmissible;

3.      Holds that these complaints disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention, as specified in the appended table below;

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 13 January 2022, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

                       

      Viktoriya Maradudina                                         Armen Harutyunyan

    Acting Deputy Registrar                                                President

 

 

APPENDIX

List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention

(inadequate conditions of detention)

No.	Application no. Date of introduction	Applicant’s name Year of birth	Representative’s name and location	Facility Start and end date Duration	Sq. m per inmate	Specific grievances	Domestic compensation awarded (in days) based on total period calculated domestically	Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros) [1]
	37813/15 24/08/2015	Emilian PĂDURARIU 1969		Bucharest Police facilities nos. 4, 5 and 12, Rahova Prison and Colibași Prison Hospital 30/10/2009 to 23/07/2012 2 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 24 day(s)	2.06-2.75 m²	overcrowding (save for 22/01-23/02/2010, 25/11/2010 - 22/08/2011, 31/10/2011-24/04/2012 and 26/04-14/08/2012), bunk beds, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food	390 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 27/12/2017	3,000
	31001/16 22/06/2016	Aurel OLTEAN 1962		Dej Prison Hospital 25/05/2018 to 21/06/2018 28 day(s)   Dej Prison Hospital 23/05/2019 to 04/06/2019 13 day(s)   Deva Prison 24/12/2019 pending More than 1 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 18 day(s)	2.33 m²	overcrowding (save for 25/05-21/06/2018 and 23/05-04/06/2019), lack or inadequate furniture, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air	516 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 23/12/2019 save for the periods mentioned in column no. 5	3,000
	32318/16 06/07/2016	Ion EVULESCU 1957	Irina Elena Arsenie Târgu-Jiu	Bucharest Central Arrest and Gorj County Police 07/07/2012 to 04/12/2012 4 month(s) and 28 day(s)	2.16 m²	overcrowding (save for 26/11-04/12/2012), bunk beds, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to toilet	330 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 05/12/2012 to 17/11/2017	1,000
	38447/16 18/08/2016	Remus BANFI 1979		Miercurea Ciuc Prison 24/12/2019 pending More than 1 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 18 day(s)	1.92 m²	overcrowding, bunk beds, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of toiletries, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food	486 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 23/12/2019	3,000
	39245/16 25/08/2016	Vasile SĂRĂCUȚU 1976		Jilava Prison 24/12/2019 pending More than 1 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 18 day(s)	1.25 m²	overcrowding, poor quality of food, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of potable water, mouldy or dirty cell	282 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 12/01/2016 to 23/12/2019	3,000
	39773/16 18/11/2016	Bogdan HASAN (previously VINOGRUSCHI) 1986	Aneta Grigoras Botoșani	Iași Prison 25/05/2017 to 08/06/2017 15 day(s)   Iași Prison 26/03/2020 to 08/01/2021 9 month(s) and 14 day(s)   Iași Prison 18/02/2021 to 20/05/2021 3 month(s) and 3 day(s)   Iași Prison 14/06/2021 pending More than 4 month(s) and 28 day(s)	1.60 m²	overcrowding, lack or inadequate furniture, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, bunk beds	270 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 16/12/2015 to 23/12/2019, except for the period from 25/05/2017 to 08/06/2017	3,000
	46691/16 08/11/2016	Florin-Viorel BUSUIOC 1984	Irina Maria Peter Bucharest	Bucharest Police facilities nos. 3 and 12, Rahova, Jilava, Giurgiu and Colibași Prisons 24/02/2009 to 23/07/2012 3 year(s) and 5 month(s)   Rahova Prison 22/09/2017 to 16/10/2017 25 day(s)   Rahova Prison 21/10/2017 to 15/11/2017 26 day(s)	1.29-2.90 m²	overcrowding (save for 22/09-16/10/2017 and 21/10-15/11/2017), bunk beds, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, poor quality of food, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to shower, poor quality of potable water	408 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 24/04/2018, except for 22/09/2017 to 16/10/2017 and 21/10/2017 to 15/11/2017	3,000
	47568/16 02/09/2016	Florin-Constantin GORDIN 1978		Timișoara Prison 11/04/2016 to 11/07/2017 1 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 1 day(s)	1.25-2.40 m²	overcrowding, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of toiletries, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food	-	3,000
	47778/16 13/09/2016	Ekrem TURHAN 1965		Bucharest General Police, Jilava, Rahova, Drobeta Turnu Severin, Poarta Albă, Timișoara and Giurgiu Prisons and Rahova Prison Hospital 06/12/2002 to 23/07/2012 9 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 18 day(s)   Jilava Prison 24/12/2019 pending More than 2 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 18 day(s)	0.66-2.85 m²	overcrowding (save for 19-21/05/2009, 14-16/11/2011, 17/02-14/05/2012), lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, poor quality of potable water, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water	516 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 23/12/2019	5,000
	47983/16 19/09/2016	Constantin TURCESCU 1968		Colibași Prison 24/12/2019 pending More than 1 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 18 day(s)	2.13-2.75 m²	overcrowding, lack of fresh air, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to running water, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food	516 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 - 23/12/2019	3,000
	78413/16 11/07/2017	Ismail DERVIS 1974	Andreea-Gabriela Cadar Galați	Poarta Albă Hospital Prison 23/03/2016 to 29/03/2016 7 day(s)    Poarta Albă Hospital Prison 16/08/2016 to 29/09/2016 1 month(s) and 14 day(s)    Poarta Albă Hospital Prison 26/02/2018 to 06/03/2018 9 day(s)    Poarta Albă Hospital Prison 14/06/2018 to 27/06/2018 14 day(s)    Poarta Albă Hospital Prison 28/02/2019 to 07/03/2019 8 day(s)	1.66-2.50 m²	overcrowding, poor quality of food, lack of toiletries	258 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 13/02/2016 to 12/12/2019, except for the periods referred to in column. no. 5	1,000
	10896/17 27/07/2017	Gheorghe Viorel LAZĂR 1991		Deva Police Station 26/07/2016 to 20/10/2016 2 month(s) and 25 day(s)	1 m²	overcrowding, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of fresh air	150 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 21/10/2016 to 09/02/2017 and from 27/11/2017 to 22/12/2019	1,000
	4786/20 17/02/2020	Ovidiu Ilie CIOBOTEA 1990		Târgu Jiu Prison 23/12/2019 pending More than 1 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 19 day(s)	2.12-2.65 m²	overcrowding (save for 05-07/02/2020), lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to shower	18 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/09/2019 to 22/12/2019	3,000