European Court of Human Rights

FOURTH SECTION

CASE OF DIȚĂ AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA

(Applications nos. 23712/16 and 2 others)

JUDGMENT
(Revision)

STRASBOURG

30 November 2023

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

In the case of Diță and Others v. Romania, (request for revision of the judgment of 13 January 2022),

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

 Faris Vehabović, President,
 Anja Seibert-Fohr,
 Anne Louise Bormann, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 9 November 2023,

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

PROCEDURE

1.  The case Diță and Others v. Romania 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.  In a judgment delivered on 13 January 2022, the Court held that there had been a violation of Article 3 of the Convention on account of inadequate conditions of detention. The Court also decided to award the applicants just satisfaction in the amounts set out in the table appended to that judgment.

3.  On 1 April 2022 the Romanian Government ("the Government") informed the Court that on 28 March 2022 they had learned that Mr. Dumitru Vasile-Nicolae, the applicant in application no. 47340/17, had died on 3 July 2019. On the same date, they also informed the Court that on 28 March 2022 they had learned that Mr. Istvan Irimias, the applicant in application no. 22064/17, had died on 5 October 2021. They accordingly asked for the judgment to be revised within the meaning of Rule 80 of the Rules of Court.

4.  On 17 May 2023 the Court considered the requests for revision and decided to give the applicants' potential heirs six weeks in which to submit any observations, in accordance with Rule 80 § 4 of the Rules of Court. By letter dated 24 May 2023, sent by registered post to Mr. Dumitru Vasile-Nicolae's last known address of correspondence, his potential heirs were invited to inform the Court whether they wished to pursue the application before the Court. The letter was received by the applicant's heirs on 6 June 2023. By letter dated 24 May 2023, sent by registered post to Mr. Istvan Irimias's last known address of correspondence, his potential heirs were invited to inform the Court whether they wished to pursue the application before the Court. The letter was received by the applicant's heirs on 6 June 2023. No heir of the two applicants contacted the Court to date.

THE LAW

THE REQUEST FOR REVISION

5.  The Government requested the revision of the judgment of 13 January 2022, which they had been unable to execute in full because Mr. Dumitru Vasile-Nicolae and Mr. Istvan Irimias had died before the judgment was adopted. They argued that the heirs should have informed the Court about the death of their close relative and about their intention to pursue the proceedings. As they failed to do so, they should not receive the amount awarded to the deceased applicants.

6.  No heirs have shown interest in pursuing the procedure.

7.  The Court considers that the judgment of 13 January 2022 should be revised pursuant to Rule 80 of the Rules of Court, the relevant parts of which provide:

"A party may, in the event of the discovery of a fact which might by its nature have a decisive influence and which, when a judgment was delivered, was unknown to the Court and could not reasonably have been known to that party, request the Court ... to revise that judgment.

..."

8.  The Court notes that the applicants have died before it adopted the judgment of 13 January 2022 and that no observations have been submitted to it by any potential heirs.

9.  The Court considers that the applicants' death constitutes "the discovery of a fact (...) which, when [the] judgment was delivered, was unknown to the Court". It also constitutes a fact of "decisive influence" on the outcome of the judgment within the meaning of Rule 80 § 1. The Court is prepared to accept that this decisive fact could not reasonably have been expected to be known to the Government, which became aware of the applicants' death on 28 March 2022 (see Manushaqe Puto and Others v. Albania (revision), nos. 604/07 and 3 others, §§ 9-10, 4 November 2014). On 1 April 2022 they filed a request for revision of the judgment of 13 January 2022, that is, within the time-limit provided for by Rule 80.

10.  In these circumstances, the Court accepts the Government's request for revision of the judgment of 13 January 2022.

11.  The Court further notes that Article 37 § 1 of the Convention, in its relevant part, reads:

"1. The Court may at any stage of the proceedings decide to strike an application out

of its list of cases where the circumstances lead to the conclusion that ...

(c) ... it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application."

12.  In this respect, the Court observes that it has been its practice to strike applications out of the list of cases when the applicant has died during the proceedings and no heirs or close relatives have expressed a wish to pursue them (see Cioată and Others v. Romania (revision), no. 48095/07, §§ 5-17, 11 February 2021 and Neghină and Others v. Romania (revision), nos. 37620/15 and 10 others, §§ 5-13, 28 October 2021). It further finds no special circumstances relating to respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols which require it to continue the examination of the application.

13.  Accordingly, application no. 22064/17, introduced by Mr. Istvan Irimias, and application no. 47340/17, introduced by Mr. Dumitru Vasile-Nicolae, should be struck out of the Court's list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 of the Convention and the judgment of 13 January 2022 in the case of Diță and Others v. Romania should be revised as far as it concerns the applications in question.

FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,

1. Decides to revise its judgment of 13 January 2022 in the case of Diță and Others v. Romania in respect of applications nos. 22064/17 and 47340/17;
2. Decides to strike application no. 22064/17, lodged by Mr. Istvan Irimias, and application no. 47340/17, lodged by Mr. Dumitru Vasile-Nicolae, out of its list of cases.

Done in English, and notified in writing on 30 November 2023, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

 Viktoriya Maradudina Faris Vehabović
 Acting Deputy Registrar President