IONIŢĂ AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA
Doc ref: 57285/15, 1472/16, 22084/16, 26113/16, 26661/16, 32011/16, 42368/16, 55424/16, 192/17, 15398/17, 405... • ECHR ID: 001-215050
Document date: December 9, 2021
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FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 57285/15 Costel IONIŢĂ against Romania and 11 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 9 December 2021 as a Committee composed of:
Armen Harutyunyan, President, Jolien Schukking, Ana Maria Guerra Martins, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,
Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The list of applicants is set out in the appended table.
The applicants’ complaints under Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate 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 of the 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 argued that the applicants had lost their victim status because 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 was insufficient.
The Court notes that in decision Dîrjan and Ştefan v. Romania ((dec.), nos. 14224/15 and 50977/15, 15 April 2020) it has examined similar applications as the ones in the present case 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 (no. 61467/12 and three 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, the above 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 the term of the prison sentences and had given detainees an 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 the admissibility of those complaints. The above-mentioned remedy was available to the applicants in the present applications and, indeed, they benefitted from it. Thus, on different dates, the domestic authorities, applying the provisions laid down 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). Furthermore, the applicants were released from the detention facilities they complained about.
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, insofar as the conditions of their detention, described in the appended table, are concerned. It follows that the applications in this 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.
Some applicants also raised other complaints under Article 3 of the Convention.
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 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.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Declares the applications inadmissible.
Done in English and notified in writing on 13 January 2022.
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
Domestic compensation awarded
(in days)
based on total period calculated domestically
57285/15
30/05/2016
Costel IONIŢĂ
1967Drobeta Turnu Severin, Giurgiu and Jilava Prisons
21/05/2015 to
19/10/2017
2 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 29 day(s)
372 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions between 24/07/2012-19/10/2017
1472/16
17/08/2016
Laszló KACSÓ
1984Vasile RareÅŸ Biro
Satu Mare
Bihor County Police and Oradea and Satu Mare Prisons
19/03/2014 to
31/10/2017
3 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 13 day(s)
252 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 19/03/2014 to 31/10/2017
22084/16
21/06/2016
Teodor UNGURU
1970Iulia Ciocan
Craiova
Craiova, Rahova and Târgu Jiu Prisons
08/04/2013 to
07/11/2017
4 year(s) and 7 month(s)
378 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 07/11/2017
26113/16
22/06/2016
Dumitru-Daniel BĂLAN
1991Codlea Prison
10/03/2015 to
19/12/2017
2 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 10 day(s)
204 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 10/03/2015 to 19/12/2017
26661/16
10/06/2016
Tomiță BRÎNZEA
1969Galați and Brăila Prisons
10/12/2013 to
30/10/2017
3 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 21 day(s)
294 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from
21/10/2013 to 30/10/2017
32011/16
04/07/2016
Dumitru-Liviu ANDREI
1991Nicolae Stoica
Cluj Napoca
Aiud Prison
05/02/2015 to
25/08/2016
1 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 21 day(s)
Aiud Prison
07/09/2017 to
26/07/2018
10 month(s) and 20 day(s)
276 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 08/10/2018
42368/16
05/08/2016
Viorel STÃŽNGÄ‚
1987Galaţi Prison
16/02/2015 to
12/01/2018
2 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 28 day(s)
228 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 15/01/2015 to 28/02/2018
55424/16
03/11/2016
Florentin BADEA
1975Târgu-Jiu Prison
04/12/2014 to
28/12/2016
2 year(s) and 25 day(s)
144 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 04/12/2014 to 28/12/2016
192/17
23/12/2016
Antonio DI MUCCIO
1971Dumitra Veronica MuÅŸat
Bucharest
Bucharest Detention and Preventive Arrest Centres no. 1 and no. 7 and Rahova Prison
04/02/2016 to
13/06/2016
4 month(s) and 10 day(s)
90 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 03/02/2016 to 13/06/2016 and from
20/02/2019 to 22/12/2019
15398/17
19/04/2017
Nicolae ANGHEL
1971Dumitra Veronica MuÅŸat
Bucharest
Jilava Prison
23/02/2016 to
25/10/2016
8 month(s) and 3 day(s)
48 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 23/02/2016 to 25/10/2016
40571/17
23/05/2017
Dan-Adrian DIEA
1989Andreea-Gabriela Cadar
Galați
Galați Prison
22/11/2016 to
20/01/2017
1 month(s) and 30 day(s)
Galați Prison
21/02/2017 to
14/03/2017
22 day(s)
Galați Prison
07/04/2017 to
14/04/2017
8 day(s)
72 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions in the following periods: 22/03 - 08/07/2016, 07/10- 15/11/2016, 22/11/2016 - 14/03/2017, 07-14/04/2017 and 28/11/2017 – 02/01/2018
48321/17
30/06/2017
Constantin COLÅ¢EA
1972Andreea-Gabriela Cadar
Galați
Tulcea Prison
22/12/2014 to
12/03/2015
2 month(s) and 19 day(s)
Tulcea and Poarta Albă Prisons
19/03/2015 to
04/06/2015
2 month(s) and 17 day(s)
Poarta Albă Prison
11/06/2015 to
30/06/2015
19 day(s)
Poarta Albă Prison
07/07/2015 to
10/07/2017
2 year(s) and 4 day(s)
Poarta Albă Prison
18/07/2017 to
07/08/2017
21 day(s)
Poarta Albă Prison
10/10/2017 to
26/04/2018
6 month(s) and 17 day(s)
288 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions in the from 23/01/2014 to 26/04/2018, except for short periods of time spent in prison hospitals
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