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issued by the Registrar of the Court   ECHR 032 (2011)   07.06.2011   Two prisoners detained in a psychiatric ward in breach of the   Convention   In today’s Chamber judgment in the case Hadzic and Suljic v. Bosnia and Herzegovina   (application nos. 39446/06 and 33849/08), which is not final1, the European Court of   Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been:   A violation of Article 5 § 1 (right to liberty and security) of the European   Convention on Human Rights.   The case concerned the detention of two convicted prisoners in the psychiatric annex of   Zenica Prison.   Principal facts   The applicants, Fikret Hadzic and Nagib Suljic, are nationals of Bosnia and Herzegovina,   who were born in 1959 and 1956 respectively and who are detained in Zenica Prison   (Bosnia and Herzegovina).   They were both sentenced to imprisonment, in September 2002 and January 2003   respectively, for murders they had commited in 2002. Because of their diminished   responsibility at the time of the killings, the court ordered their internment in hospital   when it handed down the verdicts. As a result, they were detained in the Psychiatric   Annex of Zenica Prison, Mr Hadzic in February 2003 and Mr Suljic in May 2003.   The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina found, in December 2006 in respect   of Mr Hadzic and in April 2010 in respect of Mr Suljic, a breach of Article 5 §§ 1 and 4 of   the Convention, as it did not consider the Psychiatric Annex an appropriate institution for   the detention of mental health patients. Mr Suljic was awarded 2,000 euros   compensation. Mr Hadzic was not awarded any compensation in that judgment and he   brought civil proceedings for damages for having been unlawfully detained in the   Psychiatric Annex. Those proceedings are pending.   In March 2003, Mr Hadzic lodged his first application with the European Court of Human   Rights in which he complained about his detention in the Psychiatric Annex. In October   2005, the examination of the case was discontinued by the Court following a friendly   settlement between the parties according to which the Government undertook to move   Mr Hadzic, together with all the other patients held in that Annex, to an adequate facility   and to pay him a compensation. The money was paid to Mr Hadzic, however, he   remained in the Psychiatric Annex.   Under Articles 43 and 44 of the Convention, this Chamber judgment is not final. During the three-month   period following its delivery, any party may request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the   Court. If such a request is made, a panel of five judges considers whether the case deserves further   examination. In that event, the Grand Chamber will hear the case and deliver a final judgment. If the referral   request is refused, the Chamber judgment will become final on that day.   Once a judgment becomes final, it is transmitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for   supervision of its execution. Further information about the execution process can be found here:   www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/execution   Following a decision of the Tuzla Cantonal Court, both Mr Hadzic and Mr Suljic were   transferred in 2008 from the Psychiatric Annex to the general section of Zenica prison,   as the judges found that their mental condition no longer required their confinement in   that Annex.   Complaints, procedure and composition of the Court   Relying on Article 5 § 1, the applicants complained that they had been detained in the   Psychiatric Annex, which had been inappropriate for mental health patients.   The applications were lodged with the European Court of Human Rights on 6 January   and 30 June 2008 respectively.   Judgment was given by a Chamber of seven, composed as follows:   Nicolas Bratza (the United Kingdom), President,   Lech Garlicki (Poland),   Ljiljana Mijović (Bosnia and Herzegovina),   Sverre Erik Jebens (Norway),   Zdravka Kalaydjieva (Bulgaria),   Nebojša Vučinić (Montenegro),   Vincent A. de Gaetano (Malta), Judges,   and also Fatoş Aracı, Deputy Section Registrar.   Decision of the Court   Article 5 § 1   The Court noted that the applicants’ detention in the Psychiatric Annex of Zenica Prizon   had been lawful under the applicable criminal legislation at the time, given that it had   been imposed by a hospital order of the relevant criminal court. It then emphasised that   detention of people as mental health patients could only be lawful under the Convention   if it was effected in a hospital, clinic or other appropriate institution.   The Court then observed that both the European Committee for the Prevention of   Torture and the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina had established that the   Psychiatric Annex of Zenica Prizon was not an appropriate institution for the detention of   mental health patients and that it had been used as an interim solution which had   become a permanent one for want of resources.   While both applicants had been transferred away from that Annex in 2008, they had   been detained in an inappropriate institution for several years: in the case of Mr Hadzic –   for almost three further years after the settlement of his first case before the Court, and   in the case of Mr Suljic, for more than five years in all.   Consequently, there had been a violation of Article 5 § 1.   Article 41 (just satisfaction)   Under Article 41, the Court held that Bosnia and Herzegovina was to pay to Mr Hadzic   15,000 euros (EUR) and to Mr Suljic - EUR 25,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage.   The judgment is available only in English.   This press release is a document produced by the Registry. It does not bind the Court.   Decisions, judgments and further information about the Court can be found on its   Internet site. To receive the Court’s press releases, please subscribe to the Court’s RSS   feeds.   Press contacts   [email protected]e.int | tel: +33 3 90 21 42 08   Kristina Pencheva-Malinowski (tel: + 33 3 88 41 35 70)   Emma Hellyer (tel: + 33 3 90 21 42 15)   Tracey Turner-Tretz (tel: + 33 3 88 41 35 30)   Frédéric Dolt (tel: + 33 3 90 21 53 39)   Nina Salomon (tel: + 33 3 90 21 49 79)   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of   Europe Member States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European   Convention on Human Rights.   3