64973/16;19107/17;34244/18;55897/19;5047/20;7249/20;7870/20;20639/20;21885/20

FOURTH SECTION CASE OF KOLCSAR AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA (Application no. 64973/16 and 8 others – see appended list)             JUDGMENT   STRASBOURG 30 November 2023   This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Kolcsar and Others v. Romania, The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:  Faris Vehabović, President,  Anja Seibert-Fohr,  Anne Louise Bormann, judges, and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 9 November 2023, 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 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. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 3 OF THE CONVENTION 6.  The applicants complained of the inadequate conditions of their detention. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention. 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 some of 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 Court refers to the principles established in its case‑law regarding inadequate conditions of detention (see, for instance, Muršić v. Croatia [GC], no. 7334/13, §§ 96‑101, 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, §§ 122-41, and Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 149‑59, 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 were inadequate. 13.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention. REMAINING COMPLAINTS 14.  In application no. 20639/20 the applicant also raised other complaints under Article 3 of the Convention. 15.  The Court has examined these complaints 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. 16.  It follows that this part of the application must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION 17.  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.” 18.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Rezmiveș and Others, cited above), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table. FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY, Decides to join the applications; 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; Holds that there has been a breach of Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention, as specified in the appended table below; 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 30 November 2023, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.  Viktoriya Maradudina Faris Vehabović  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   Facility Start and end date Duration Sq. m per inmate Specific grievances Domestic compensation awarded (in days) based on total period calculated by national authorities Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1]     64973/16 04/06/2017 János KOLCSÁR Codlea and Miercurea Ciuc Prisons 27/05/2015 to 12/09/2017 2 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 17 day(s) 1.88 m² overcrowding (save for 20/07/2016-27/10/2016), passive smoking, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food, lack of requisite medical assistance   3,000     19107/17 16/05/2017 Jean-Mircea DANCIU Cluj County Police and Aiud, Arad and Gherla Prisons 24/12/2019 pending More than 3 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 4 day(s) 2.03 m² overcrowding (save for 22/04/2020-05/05/2021), mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or insufficient quantity of food 252 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 07/06/2016-23/12/2019 3,000     34244/18 21/08/2018 Constantin CREȚU Arad and Mărgineni Prisons 23/12/2019 pending More than 3 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 24 day(s) 2.9 m² mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen 24 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 01/06/2019-22/12/2019 3,000     55897/19 10/04/2020 Marius Bogdan MARȘAVELA Codlea Prison 24/12/2019 pending More than 3 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 24 day(s) 2.06 - 2.45 m² overcrowding, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, lack or inadequate furniture, poor quality of food 36 days in compensation for a total period spent in inadequate conditions between 09/05/2019 - 23/12/2019 in Codlea Prison 3,000     5047/20 25/02/2020 Valentin-George BURUIANĂ Bucharest-Jilava and Brăila Prisons 23/12/2019 to 20/10/2020 9 month(s) and 28 day(s) 2 - 2.2 m² overcrowding 54 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 14/03/2019-22/12/2019 1,000     7249/20 17/02/2020 Constantin-Radu SPĂTARIU Craiova and Drobeta-Turnu-Severin Prisons 19/12/2019 pending More than 3 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 28 day(s) 2.31 - 2.75 m² overcrowding (save for 21/08/2020-08/01/2021), bunk beds, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food, infestation of cell with insects/rodents   3,000     7870/20 26/02/2020 Gheorghe-Mihail DUDĂ Craiova Prison 23/12/2019 to 02/11/2020 10 month(s) and 11 day(s) 2.65 m² overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food 132 days in compensation for a total period of 633 days spent in inadequate conditions from 30/03/2018-22/12/2019 1,000     20639/20 30/06/2020 Ovidiu-Dănuț SIMINESCU Arad Prison 23/12/2019 pending More than 3 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 24 day(s)  - mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities 222 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 26/01/2016 to 08/02/2019 and 24/10/2019 - 22/12/2019 3,000     21885/20 23/06/2020 Ilie-Iulian CIUNTU Botoșani Prison 23/12/2019 to 29/02/2020 2 month(s) and 7 day(s) 1.83 m² overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen 126 days in compensation for a total period of 912 days spent in inadequate conditions from 13/03/2018-22/12/2019 1,000   [1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.