JOINT CONCURRING OPINION OF JUDGES MOTOC AND BO Å NJAK

In the present case we voted with the majority in finding that there has been no violation of Article 3 on account of the overall conditions of detention in the Corradino Correctional Facility where the applicants were detained, but that there has been a violation of Article 13.

We made the decision to vote against the finding of a violation in respect of Article 3 because we are convinced that the complaints before us should be dealt with in a manner that sustains the integrity of the Court and the coherence of its case-law. We cannot ignore the fact that the Court has already heard similar complaints concerning the conditions of detention in the same facility in Malta, namely in the cases of Story and Others v. Malta (nos. 56854/13, 57005/13 and 57043/13, 29 October 2015), Yanez Pinon and Others v. Malta (nos. 71645/13, 7143/14 and 20342/15, 19 December 2017), and Peñaranda Soto v. Malta (no. 16680/14, 19 December 2017), and concluded that they did not amount to degrading treatment for the purposes of Article 3. Given the similarity of the complaints in the above-mentioned cases and the present one, we believe that integrity dictates that the Court treat them in the same way.

Nevertheless, we are in agreement with the arguments put forward by Judge Casadevall and Judges Pinto de Albuequerque , Ranzoni and Bošnjak in their respective dissenting opinions in Story , Yanez Pinon and Peñaranda Soto . We share the view that the cumulative effect of the inappropriate conditions of detention in the Corradino Correctional Facility, namely the unsatisfactory hygiene levels and the lack of heating and of potable water, among other aspects, reached an excessive level of hardship and amounted to degrading treatment.

We should also like to draw attention to the findings of the Council of Europe ’ s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) in relation to the conditions of detention in the same facility in Malta, and to its recommendations, in particular that the Maltese authorities take action to remedy the poor living conditions that prisoners must endure.

DISSENTING OPINION OF JUDGE PINTO DE ALBUQUERQUE

I dissent for the same reasons as in the separate opinions appended to Yanez Pinon and Others v. Malta (nos. 71645/13 and 2 others, 19 December 2017) and Penaranda Soto v. Malta ( no. 16680/14, 19 December 2017). As in the dissenting opinions expressed in those cases, I do not feel bound by the findings of the majority in Story and Others v. Malta ( nos. 56854/13 and 2 others, 29 October 2015 ) .

In these three cases the Court dealt with most of the issues raised in the present case, namely the state of the cells, the lighting and ventilation available, the heat in the summer and cold in the winter, hygiene and lack of a flushing toilet system, the availability of running water, hot water, as well as drinking water, with regard to the Division 3 of the Corradino Correctional Facility. The present case is the first concerning Division 2 of the same prison facility. Given the similarity of the complaints, as well as the submissions and documentary evidence provided by the parties, including the CPT report, I cannot but come to the same conclusion that the conditions in the Division 2 of the Corradino Correctional facility are inhuman and degrading.