FOURTH SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 41217/16 Ionel -Constantin ÅžERB against Romania and 8 other applications

(s ee appended table)

The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 19 November 2020 as a Committee composed of:

Armen Harutyunyan, President,

Jolien Schukking,

Ana Maria Guerra Martins, judges ,

and Liv Tigerstedt, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having regard to the above application s lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,

Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government and the observations in reply submitted by the applicant s ,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

The list of applicant s is set out in the appended table.

The applicants ’ complaints under Article 3 of the Convention concerning i nadequate conditions of detention were communicated to the Romanian Government (“the Government”) .

THE LAW

Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.

The applicants complained about inadequate conditions of their detention. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows:

“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

The Government pleaded mainly that the applicants had lost their victim status due to the fact that they had benefitted from the remedy offered by Law no. 169/2017 amending and completing Law no. 254/2013 on the execution of sentences. They asked the Court to reject the present applications for being incompatible ratione personae with the provisions of the Convention.

The applicants disagreed, claiming that the compensation awarded to them had not been sufficient.

The Court notes that, in its recent decision Dîrjan and Ştefan v. Romania (( dec. ), nos. 14224/15 and 50977/15, 15 April 2020) it has examined similar applications and declared them inadmissible considering that the applicants had lost their victim status. The Court noted that Law no. 169/2017 amending and completing Law no. 254/2013 on the execution of sentences, adopted following the pilot judgment in the case of Rezmiveș and Others v. Romania (nos. 61467/12 and 3 others, 25 April 2017) and in force between October 2017 and December 2019, had been an effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention in Romanian prisons. More specifically, that law had set forth a compensatory remedy, available for periods of detention ranging from 2012 to 2019 and allowing the deduction of six days for 30 days spent in conditions of detention that fell short of standards compatible with Article 3 of the Convention (see Dîrjan and Ştefan , cited above, § 28). This benefit had impacted on the term of the prison sentences giving the detainees the opportunity of earlier release on parole.

Turning to the circumstances of the present cases, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on their admissibility. The above-mentioned remedy was available to the applicants in the present case and, indeed, they benefitted from it. In particular, on different dates, the domestic authorities, applying the provisions described in the abovementioned decision Dîrjan and Ştefan , awarded compensation, through the reduction of days, to the applicants for the entire period of detention spent in inadequate conditions of which they complained (for further details see the appended table).

The Court is therefore satisfied that the applicants have been afforded adequate redress and can no longer claim to be victims of a violation of their rights under Article 3 of the Convention. It follows that the applications in that part 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.

In applications nos. 51512/16 and 60263/16 the applicants also raised complaints under Article 3 of the Convention in relation to periods of detention preceding the start date specified in the appended table.

The Court has examined these applications 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 do not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Article 35 § 1 of the Convention as they were lodged outside the six-month time-limit.

It follows that this part of applications nos. 51512/16 and 60263/16 must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to join the applications;

Declares the applications inadmissible.

Done in English and notified in writing on 10 December 2020 .

Liv Tigerstedt 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

Domestic compensation awarded (in days) based on total period calculated domestically

41217/16

12/08/2016

Ionel -Constantin ÅžERB

1981Tulcea Prison

01/08/2013 to 04/05/2017

3 years and 9 months and 4 days

522 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 24/07/2012-23/12/2019 (date when the compensatory remedy was repelled)

42133/16

23/08/2016

Vasile -Radu GABRIAN

1973Rahova Prison

17/05/2016 to 21/07/2017

1 year and 2 months and 5 days

162 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 17/05/2016-21/07/2017 (date when he was transferred to a facility he does not complain of)

44634/16

13/02/2017

Silviu CORBEANU

1966Slobozia , Poarta Alba and Valu Lui Traian Prisons

15/03/2015 to 17/05/2018

3 years and 2 months and 3 days

216 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 15/03/2015-17/05/2018 (date when he was transferred to a facility he does not complain of)

44941/16

01/11/2016

Cankut CANTÃœRK

1991Irina Maria Peter

Bucharest

Giurgiu County Police Inspectorate and the Giurgiu Prison

18/06/2015 to 25/11/2016

1 year and 5 months and 8 days

240 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 18/06/2015-08/11/2018 (date when he was transferred to a facility he does not complain of)

46526/16

23/08/2016

Alexandru Iulian SIMION

1989Harry Otvos

Timisoara

Codlea and Miercurea Ciuc Prisons

03/02/2016 to 27/04/2016

2 months and 25 days

Codlea and Miercurea Ciuc Prison

23/06/2016 to 23/01/2019

2 years and 7 months and 1 day

204 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 04/01/2016-27/04/2016 and 23/06/2016-23/01/2019 (date of the applicant ’ s release)

49775/16

08/11/2016

Adrian CIURARU

1992Irina Maria Peter

Bucharest

Bucharest Police Station no. 4 and Rahova Prison

02/03/2016 to 17/11/2017

1 year and 8 months and 16 days

180 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 02/03/2016-14/09/2018 (date of the applicant ’ s release)

51512/16

29/12/2016

Nelu Leon MARINICÄ‚

1974Claudia Nadina Daciana Cândea

Timisoara

Timișoara Prison

17/06/2016 to 09/03/2019

2 years and 8 months and 21 days

198 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 17/06/2016-09/03/2019 (date of the applicant ’ s release)

55494/16

20/02/2017

Zoltan ROSTAȘ

1964Biro Vasile RareÈ™

Satu Mare

MaramureÈ™ County Police and Gherla and Baia Mare Prisons

02/07/2015 to 23/10/2018

3 years and 3 months and 22 days

234 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 02/07/2015-23/10/2018 (date of the applicant ’ s release)

60263/16

11/10/2016

Olimpiu MOLDOVAN

1984Biro Vasile RareÈ™

Satu Mare

Satu Mare, Salaj , Baia Mare, Gherla , Jilava and Oradea Prisons

04/12/2015 to 16/05/2018

2 years and 5 months and 3 days

390 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 24/07/2012-16/05/2018 (date of the applicant ’ s release)