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Rozsudek

FOURTH SECTION

CASE OF CLOPOTAR AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA

(Application no. 3411/17 and 9 others –

see appended list)

JUDGMENT

STRASBOURG

9 June 2022

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


In the case of Clopotar 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 19 May 2022,

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

THE LAW

  1. 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.

  1. 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 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.

8. 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).

9. 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.

10. 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 caselaw regarding inadequate conditions of detention (see, for instance, Muršić v. Croatia [GC], no. 7334/13, §§ 96101, 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, §§ 12241, and Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 14959, 10 January 2012).

11. 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.

12. 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, as described in the appended table, were inadequate.

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

  1. REMAINING COMPLAINTS

14. In applications nos. 3411/17, 6045/17, 11459/17, 12040/17, 11210/18 and 30370/18, the applicants also raised other complaints under Article 3 of the Convention.

15. 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.

  1. 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 caselaw (see, in particular, Rezmiveș and Others, cited above), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.

18. 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 for the periods 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 9 June 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 nonpecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1]

3411/17

14/07/2017

Nicolae CLOPOTAR

1991

Irina Maria Peter

Bucharest

Aiud Prison

06/12/2019 to

03/02/2020

1 month(s) and 29 day(s)

-

overcrowding, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen

516 days in compensation for a total period of 2,507 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 08/09/2012 to 05/12/2019, including all the periods spent in Aiud Prison

1,000

6045/17

06/02/2017

Florian LUNEAN

1977

Gherla and Aiud Prisons

05/12/2019

pending

More than 2 year(s) and 4 month(s)

2 - 2.66 m²

overcrowding, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of potable water, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air

330 days in compensation for a total period of 1,661 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions between 06/09/2014 and 05/12/2019, including all the periods spent in Aiud, Gherla and Giurgiu Prisons

3,000

6258/17

05/01/2017

Adrian LĂCRARU

1986

Adrian Stancu

Oradea

Bihor County Police Station and Oradea Prison

13/01/2015 to

20/09/2016

1 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 8 day(s)

1.5 - 2.37 m²

overcrowding (save for the period 08/06/2015 - 20/09/2016), mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or insufficient natural light, infestation of cell with insects/rodents

3,000

9471/17

06/05/2017

Sorin PAVEL

1968

Cezara-Maria Nichita-Costescu

Timișoara

Arad Prison

11/03/2014 to

31/01/2019

4 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 21 day(s)

-

lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to warm water

102 days in compensation for a total period of 521 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 01/08/2013 to 11/03/2014 in Timiș County Police Station and Timișoara Prison

3,000

11459/17

29/03/2017

Petrică COJOCARU

1989

Tulcea and Aiud Prisons

21/05/2012 to

23/07/2012

2 month(s) and 3 day(s)

Tulcea Prison

23/12/2019

pending

More than 2 year(s) and 3 month(s)

1.39 - 2.6 m²

overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food, inadequate temperature

3,000

12040/17

06/02/2017

Ioan GHEREBENES

1974

Vasile Rareş Biro

Satu Mare

Oradea Prison

13/04/2012 to

23/07/2012

3 month(s) and 11 day(s)

Arad Prison

30/09/2015 to

09/05/2016

7 month(s) and 10 day(s)

Satu Mare Prison

05/12/2019 to

28/04/2021

1 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 24 day(s)

2.04 - 2.07 m²

overcrowding (save for the period 30/09/2015 - 09/05/2016), lack or inadequate furniture, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food

486 days in compensation for a total period of 2,459 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 05/12/2019, including all the periods spent in Oradea and Satu Mare Prisons, except for Arad Prison

3,000

60954/17

06/09/2017

Constantin-Lucian SPÎNU

1973

Bucharest - Jilava Prison

23/12/2019

pending

More than 2 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 16 day(s)

1.94 m²

overcrowding, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to shower

3,000

8413/18

08/05/2018

Constantin NECHITA

1986

Vaslui and Miercurea Ciuc Prisons

23/12/2019 to

01/09/2020

8 month(s) and 10 day(s)

Miercurea Ciuc Prison

10/09/2020 to

08/02/2021

4 month(s) and 30 day(s)

Miercurea Ciuc and Tulcea Prisons

14/04/2021 to

17/11/2021

7 month(s) and 4 day(s)

2.36 - 2.86 m²

overcrowding, poor quality of food, infestation of cell with insects/rodents

180 days in compensation for a total period of 908 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 28/03/2017 to 22/12/2019, including all the periods spent in Bacău, Tulcea, Mărgineni, Iași, Miercurea Ciuc and Vaslui Prisons

3,000

11210/18

17/12/2018

Eugen CIMPOIEȘ

1954

Satu Mare Prison

Multiple periods from 05/01/2018 until

03/07/2019

1 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 10 day(s)

-

overcrowding, inadequate temperature, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air

54 days in compensation for a total period of 272 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 28/02/2017 to 03/07/2019, including partially the period spent in Satu Mare Prison

3,000

30370/18

08/08/2018

Nicolae-Marian OCHIȘOR

1970

Bucharest - Rahova and Constanța - Poarta Albă Prisons

12/01/2012 to

24/07/2012

6 month(s) and 13 day(s)

Giurgiu Prison

23/02/2017 to

24/05/2017

3 month(s) and 2 day(s)

Giurgiu Prison

02/03/2018

pending

More than 4 year(s) and 1 month(s)

2.41 - 2.44 m²

overcrowding (save for the periods 28/02/2012 - 05/03/2012, 12/06/2012 - 21/06/2012, 23/02/2017 - 24/05/2017 and 02/03/2018 - 12/10/2020), lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, poor quality of food

372 days in compensation for a total period of 1,883 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 02/03/2018, except for the period indicated in column no. 5 and for days spent in infirmary or transit rooms

3,000


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