CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;GRANDCHAMBER;ENG — 30 juin 2015

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RUSSIA   (Application no. 41418/04)                       JUDGMENT     STRASBOURG   30 June 2015         This judgment is final but may be subject to editorial revision.   In the case of Khoroshenko v. Russia, The European Court of Human Rights, sitting as a   Grand Chamber composed of:   Dean Spielmann, President,   Josep Casadevall,   Guido Raimondi,   Mark Villiger,   Isabelle Berro,   Ineta Ziemele,   Elisabeth Steiner,   Khanlar Hajiyev,   Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska,   Julia Laffranque,   Paulo Pinto de Albuquerque,   Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos,   Erik Møse,   Paul Mahoney,   Ksenija Turković,   Dmitry Dedov,   Egidijus Kūris, judges, and Lawrence Early, Jurisconsult, Having deliberated in private on 3 September 2014 and 22 April 2015, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on the latter date: PROCEDURE 1.     The case originated in an application (no. 41418/04) against the Russian Federation lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a Russian national, Mr Andrey Anatolyevich Khoroshenko (“the applicant”), on 6 October 2004. 2.     The applicant, who had been granted legal aid, was represented by Ms   O.V. Preobrazhenskaya and Ms M. Makarova, lawyers practising in Strasbourg. The Russian Government (“the Government”) were represented by Mr G. Matyushkin, Representative of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights. 3.     The applicant alleged, in particular, that various restrictions on family visits during his post-conviction detention had been contrary to Article 8 of the Convention. 4.     On 13 January 2011 the application was communicated to the Government. 5.     The application was allocated to the First Section of the Court (Rule   52 §   1 of the Rules of Court). On 11 February 2014 the Chamber of the First Section to which the case had been allocated, composed of Isabelle Berro, Elisabeth Steiner, Khanlar Hajiyev, Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska, Julia Laffranque, Ksenija Turković, Dmitry Dedov, judges, and also of Søren Nielsen, Section Registrar, relinquished jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber, neither of the parties having objected to relinquishment (Article 30 of the Convention and Rule 72 of the Rules of Court). 6.     The composition of the Grand Chamber was determined according to the provisions of Article 26 §§ 1, 4 and 5 of the Convention and Rule 24 of the Rules of Court. 7.     The applicant and the Government each filed written observations on the admissibility and merits of the application (Rule 59 § 1). In addition, third-party comments were received from a group of academics of the University of Surrey (“the interveners”), who had been granted leave by the President of the Court to intervene in the written procedure (Article 36 § 2 of the Convention and Rule 44 § 3). 8.     A hearing took place in public in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg, on 3 September 2014 (Rule 59 § 3). There appeared before the Court: (a)     for the Government Mr   G. Matyushkin , Representative of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights,   Agent , Mr   N. Mikhaylov , Ms   Y. Tsimbalova , Mr   S. Kovpak ,   Advisers ; (b)     for the applicant Ms   O. Preobrazhenskaya , Ms   M. Makarova ,   Counsel.   The Court heard addresses by Mr G. Matyushkin, Ms   O.   Preobrazhenskaya and Ms M. Makarova and also replies by Mr   G.   Matyushkin and Ms M. Makarova to questions put by judges. THE FACTS I.     THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE 9.     The facts of the case may be summarised as follows. A.     General information on the applicant’s situation 10.     The applicant was born in 1968 and is currently serving a life sentence in the town of Solikamsk, Perm Region. 11.     On 21 November 1994 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of banditry, robbery and aggravated murder. 12.     Between 21 November 1994, the date of his arrest, and the summer period of 1995 the applicant was held in various remand prisons in Ekaterinburg, Perm, Izhevsk and the Perm Region. 13.     On 13   October 1995 the Perm Regional Court found the applicant guilty as charged and sentenced him to death. The judgment became final on 6 June 1996. 14.     From the summer of 1995 to the autumn of 1999 the applicant was held in remand prison no. 1 in Perm. Following his conviction he was held in a special cell for prisoners awaiting the implementation of their death sentence. 15.     On 19 May 1999 the President of Russia commuted the applicant’s death sentence to life imprisonment. 16 .     On 8 October 1999 the applicant was transferred to a special-regime correctional colony for life prisoners in the Perm Region, and on 11 October 1999 he began serving the first ten years of his sentence of imprisonment within the meaning of Article 127 § 3 of the Code of Execution of Criminal Sentences. The applicant fell within the exception from the general rule of that legal provision, in that the first ten years of his sentence were calculated from the date of his placement in the special-regime correctional colony, rather than from the date of his initial arrest in 1994. The exception applied only to those prisoners whose conduct during their detention on remand had been in breach of the rules (see paragraph 52 below). The applicant later unsuccessfully challenged this rule before the Constitutional Court (see paragraph 30 below). 17.     For the next ten years the applicant was held under a strict regime of imprisonment, governed by Article 125 § 3 of the Code of Execution of Criminal Sentences (see paragraph 29 below). 18 .     On 11 October 2009, on expiry of the first ten years of his sentence, the applicant’s prison regime was changed from a strict regime to an ordinary regime, governed by Article 125 § 1 of the Code of Execution of Criminal Sentences (see paragraph 50 below). B.     Family visits during detention on remand and subsequent imprisonment 19.     At the time of his arrest on 21 November 1994 the applicant was married to S. and had a three-year-old son. His remaining family consisted of his parents, O. and A., his brother Se. and his grandmother M. According to the applicant, his extended family numbered seventeen people in total, and after his arrest he wished to maintain contact with all of them. 1.     The applicant’s detention prior to his placement in the special ‑ regime correctional colony 20.     From 21 November 1994 to 8 October 1999 the applicant was not allowed to see his family at all, with the exception of one visit by his wife in the week following the first-instance judgment in the criminal case against him in October 1995. 21.     In 1996, following the first-instance judgment in his criminal case, the applicant’s wife divorced him, on her initiative. 22.     The applicant submitted that he had been allowed to start corresponding with the outside world following the entry into force of the Code of Execution of Criminal Sentences in January 1997. He then re ‑ established contact with all of his family members and his former wife. 2.     The applicant’s detention in the special-regime correctional colony between 8 October 1999 and 11 October 2009 23 .     During this period the applicant was allowed to have one short-term visit from his relatives every six months. The visits lasted no longer than four hours. During the meetings the applicant communicated with his visitors via a glass partition or through metal bars, under conditions which allowed no physical contact. A warden listened in to the conversations with his visitors. 24.     The applicant used his right to short-term visits as frequently as possible, and received visits from his mother, his father and his brother. His friends also tried to visit the applicant, but this was not authorised by the prison administration. Long-term family visits during the first ten years of his sentence were not allowed. 25 .     According to the applicant, due to the severity of the restrictions on his contacts with the outside world he lost contact with some of his family members and with his own son, whom he had not seen for the past fifteen years. The applicant’s son refuses to see the applicant, but has agreed to help him financially. 3.     The applicant’s detention in the special-regime correctional colony as of 11 October 2009 26.     After the applicant’s change of regime on 11 October 2009, he became entitled to long-term family visits in addition to short-term visits. The applicant availed himself of each subsequent opportunity to have a long-term visit, and saw his family members once every six months: once in 2009, twice in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. On each of these occasions the visit was for the authorised maximum duration of three days, except for one visit in the spring of 2013. This visit was interrupted at the initiative of the applicant and his mother, who had to catch her train and leave earlier. The applicant’s brother also attended these visits. The visits lasted no more than seventy-two hours and his privacy was respected throughout. The applicant’s father participated in the short-term visits until 2007, but could not come for the long-term visits which started in 2009 on account of his health. 27.     The Government submitted that, in total, the applicant had fourteen short-term visits and nine long-term visits during his detention in the special-regime correction colony. None of the applicant’s respective requests for a visit was refused. C.     Proceedings before the Constitutional Court 1.     Ruling no. 257-O dated 24 May 2005 28.     On 24 August 2004 the applicant lodged a complaint with the Constitutional Court of Russia, challenging the constitutionality of the ten ‑ year ban on long-term family visits for convicts sentenced to life imprisonment as contained in Article 125 § 4 of the Code of Execution of Criminal Sentences. He alleged, in particular, that the provision in question had been discriminatory and breached his right to respect for private and family life. 29 .     The Constitutional Court declared the applicant’s complaint concerning Articles 125 § 3 and 127 § 3 inadmissible, having ruled as follows: “... Nor do the provisions of Article 125 § 3 and Article 127 § 3 of the Code on the Execution of Criminal Sentences breach [the applicant’s] constitutional rights. Article 55 § 3 of the Constitution ... allows for the possibility of restricting human and civil rights by federal law, as a means of protecting the basis of the constitutional regime, morality, health, the rights and lawful interests of others, [and] securing the defence of the country and State security. Such restrictions may be linked, in particular, with the application of criminal sanctions against offenders, in the form of imprisonment and other measures related to punishment. ... Article 71 (o) of the Constitution empowers the federal legislature to provide for restrictive measures of this type in relation to convicted persons on whom a sentence has been imposed, which, as follows from Article 43 §   1 of the Criminal Code... consist, by their very nature, in deprivation or restriction of the convict’s rights and freedoms, as provided by law. At the same time, both the legislature, in establishing liability for a crime, and the law-enforcement agencies, in deciding on its application to an offender, are required to take into account the nature of the crime, the danger posed by it to the values defended by the Constitution and the criminal law, its seriousness, its causes and other circumstances in which the crime was committed, and also information about the offender, provided that regulation by those institutions, and their application, correspond to the constitutional principles of legal liability and guarantees to the individual in his or her public relations with the State. As the Constitutional Court noted in [its previous case-law ...], the legislative regulation of criminal liability and punishment without taking into account the offender’s personality and other objective and reasonable circumstances which facilitate an appropriate assessment of the social danger posed by the criminal act itself and by the offender, and the application of identical sanctions for crimes that pose varying degrees of social danger, without taking into account the offender’s degree of participation in the crime, his or her conduct subsequent to the crime and in serving a sentence where that has already been imposed, and other [relevant] factors, would both be contrary to the constitutional prohibition on discrimination and the principles of fairness and humanism expressed in the Constitution. In setting out criminal sanctions with a range of restrictions, corresponding to the gravity of the crime committed by the convict and the sentence imposed, and also in determining the manner in which that sentence is to be served, the legislature must proceed on the basis that convicts enjoy, as a whole, the same rights and freedoms as other citizens, with the exceptions determined by their individual personalities and the offences committed by them. The conditions for serving sentences, as laid down both in Articles   125 and 127 of the Code of Execution of Criminal Sentences and in a range of other provisions of that Code, are intended to tailor sentences to individual offenders and differentiate sanctions and their application, and to create the preconditions for achieving the aims of punishment, which, as stated in Article 43 § 2 of the Criminal Code, are the restoration of justice, reform of the offender and the prevention of new crimes ...” 2.     Ruling no. 591-O dated 21 December 2006 30 .     On an unspecified date the applicant lodged a complaint with the Constitutional Court, this time challenging Article 127 § 3 of the Code of Execution of Criminal Sentences, in so far as this provision distinguished between two categories of detainees serving their sentence in special-regime colonies on the basis of whether or not they had previously breached prison rules while in their detention on remand and had been punished by solitary confinement. For those who had not previously breached prison rules and had not been punished by solitary confinement, the initial ten-year period of the strict-regime conditions started running from the date of their initial arrest and detention. For those who had previously breached prison rules and been punished by solitary confinement, the ten-year period under strict ‑ regime conditions began from the date of their arrival in a   special ‑ regime correctional colony. The applicant argued that this provision was unconstitutional and discriminatory. On 21 December 2006 the Constitutional Court declared the applicant’s second complaint against the above-mentioned provision inadmissible, ruling as follows: “... the [above-mentioned] provision does not violate the rights of [the applicant]. Article 55 § 3 of the Constitution allows for the possibility of restricting human and civil rights by federal law as a means of protecting the fundamental principles of the constitutional system, morality, health, the rights and lawful interests of others, [and] ensuring the defence of the country and State security. Such restrictions may be linked to the application of criminal sanctions against offenders in the form of coercion by the State, the distinctive feature of which is that, throughout its execution, certain of the offender’s his rights and freedoms are withdrawn and specific obligations are imposed. At the same time, the restrictions imposed on a convicted person’s rights and freedoms shall correspond to the crime committed and to his or her personality. This requirement is also compulsory in respect of cases where [the authorities have punished] persons who breached the legally established regime in the course of the criminal proceedings or [already] while serving their sentence. The provision of Article 127 § 3 of the Code of Execution of Criminal Sentences [in so far as it includes the contested rules] is intended to tailor sentences to individual offenders and to differentiate the conditions for serving sentences, and to create the preconditions for achieving the aims of punishment, which, as stated in Article 43 § 2 of the Criminal Code, are the restoration of justice, reform of the offender and the prevention of new crimes. If, in the applicant’s opinion, his rights were violated by the relevant actions or decisions of the law-enforcement bodies when imposing a sanction in the form of a   placement in a solitary confinement, during his transfer from a remand prison to a   correctional colony or in calculating the term of his detention under the strict regime, he is entitled to appeal against them in court ...” D.     Other facts 31.     The applicant made attempts to bring civil claims against the prosecutor’s office and the lawyer who defended him in the course of the criminal proceedings. The applicant challenged in court the prosecutor’s refusal to institute criminal proceedings and the Ombudsman’s failure to act on his complaints. He also lodged a number of complaints with the Constitutional Court. All of these proceedings proved unsuccessful. II.     RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW A.     Constitution of Russia 32.     The relevant constitutional provisions are the following: Article 23 “1.     Everyone has the right to inviolability of private life, personal and family confidentiality, the protection of his/her honour and good name. 2.     Everyone has the right to the secrecy of correspondence, telephone, mail, telegraph and other types of communication. Any limitation on this right is permitted only upon a court decision.” Article 55 “1.     The enumeration in the Constitution of the basic rights and freedoms should not be interpreted as the denial or belittling of other widely recognised human and civil rights and freedoms. 2.     No laws denying or belittling human and civil rights and freedoms may be enacted in the Russian Federation. 3.     Human and civil rights and freedoms may be limited by a federal law only to the extent necessary for the protection of the fundamental principles of the constitutional system, morality, health, the rights and lawful interests of other people, or for ensuring defence of the country and security of the State.” Article 71 (o) “The jurisdiction of the Russian Federation includes: ... (o)     the constitution of the judiciary, the prosecutor’s office, criminal law, criminal procedure, matters concerning the execution of criminal sentences, amnesty and pardon, civil law, civil procedure, the procedure of commercial courts, legal regulation of intellectual property; ...” B.     Criminal Code of 13 June 1996 33 .     The relevant provisions of the Criminal Code are as follows: 1.     General provisions Article 43 (Definition and goals of punishment) “1.     Punishment is a measure of State coercion attributed by a court sentence. Punishment is used in respect of a person who has been found guilty of having committed a crime and includes the deprivation or limitations of that person’s rights as set forth by the present Code. 2.     Punishment is used with the aim of restoring social justice, as well as with the aims of reforming the convicted person and preventing the commission of new crimes.” Article 57 (Life imprisonment) “1.     Life imprisonment is set out as a sanction for the commission of particularly grave crimes against human life, and for the commission of particularly grave crimes against the population’s health and morals of society, the safety of society, and against the sexual inviolability of minors aged under fourteen. 2.     Life imprisonment shall not be used in respect of women, persons who committed crimes while aged under eighteen and men who, by the time of the adoption of a court verdict, have reached the age of sixty-five.” Article 58 (Choice of penitentiary establishments for persons sentenced to imprisonment) “1.     [The persons sentenced to imprisonment shall serve their respective sentences, depending on the gravity of the crimes that they have committed, in: - settlement colonies ( колония-поселение ), if the crime was committed negligently or the crime was of minor or medium gravity and was committed by a person who has never previously served a sentence of imprisonment; - common-regime correctional colonies ( исправительная колония общего режима ), in the case of a grave crime committed by a man who has never previously served a sentence of imprisonment, or in the case of a crime committed by a woman who has been sentenced to imprisonment for committing a grave or particularly grave crime, including any form of recidivism; - strict-regime correctional colonies ( исправительная колония строго режима ), in the case of a crime committed by a man who has been sentenced to imprisonment for the commission of a particularly grave crime, who has never previously served a sentence of imprisonment, and in the case of recidivism or dangerous recidivism, if the convicted person had previously served a sentence of imprisonment; - special-regime correctional colonies ( исправительная колония особого режима ), if a man was sentenced to a sentence of life imprisonment or if a man is an especially dangerous recidivist, - prisons ( тюрьмы ): where a man has been sentenced to a term of over five years’ imprisonment for the commission of particularly grave crime, or if a man is an especially dangerous recidivist, a competent court has the power to decide that part of their sentence should be served in prison. Special-regime correctional colonies are used for detention of the following categories of convicts: ...] ... (d)     Men convicted to life imprisonment, and especially dangerous recidivists ...” Article 79 (Release on parole) “... 5.     A person serving a life sentence may be released conditionally and prior to expiry of the sentence if a court finds that he no longer needs to endure the punishment and if he has in fact served no less than twenty-five years of imprisonment. [This measure] is used only if the convicted person has not committed repetitive breaches of prison order in the preceding three years. A person who has committed another grave or particularly grave crime while serving his or her sentence cannot be released conditionally and prior to expiry of the sentence ...” 2.     The sanction of life imprisonment in Russian criminal law 34 .     The sanction of life imprisonment was introduced in the previous Criminal Code (of 1960) as a replacement for the death penalty, by way of clemency. In the Criminal Code of 1996 it was introduced in the system of punishments and has been used for particularly grave crimes against human life (Article 159 § 2, aggravated murder); against the sexual inviolability of minors aged under fourteen (Articles 131 § 5, 132 § 5, 134 § 6, various sexual crimes directed against minors); the security of society (Articles 205 § 3; 205.3 §§ 3 and 4; 211 § 4; 205.1 § 4; 205 § 3; 205.4 § 1; 205.5 § 1; 206 §   4, various terrorism-related crimes; Article 210 § 4, setting up and running of criminal syndicates; Article 211 § 4, aggravated hijacking of planes, ships or trains; Articles 228.1 § 5 and 229.1 § 4, various serious drug related crimes; Article 281 § 3, aggravated sabotage; Article 295, attempt on a life of a person carrying out administration of justice or preliminary investigation of crimes; Article   57, genocide). 35 .     The death penalty may be imposed as an exceptional punishment for particularly serious criminal offences against human life (Article 59 § 1). 36.     It can be replaced by a life sentence by way of clemency (Article 59 § 3). A man sentenced to life imprisonment must serve his sentence in a special-regime correctional colony separately from other prisoners (Article   58 § 1). A life prisoner may be released on probation if a court finds that he no longer needs to serve this punishment and if he has served no less than 25 years of his sentence (Article   79 § 5). C.     Code of Execution of Criminal Sentences of 8 January 1997 1.     General rules on contacts with the outside world 37.     Under Article 89 § 1 of the Code, convicted prisoners are entitled to short-term visits lasting for up to four hours and to long-term visits of up to three days, in the prison premises. A long-term visit takes place in a room in which privacy can be respected. During short-term visits convicted prisoners meet with relatives or other persons. A short-term visit lasts for four hours and takes place in the presence of a warden (Article 89 §§ 1 and 2), the prisoners and the visitor(s) being separated by a glass partition or metal bars. In certain limited circumstances convicted prisoners may be authorised to have a long-term visit of up to five days outside the prison premises. Long-term visits are provided for meeting a spouse, parents, children, parents- and children-in-law, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren and, with the authorisation of the governor, other persons. 38.     In its judgment of 29 January 2014 in case no. AKPI13-1283, the Supreme Court of Russia stated that the governor of a correctional colony may refuse a request for a visit in a limited number of cases, for instance if the request for a long-term visit is made by a person who is not a relative of a convicted person (Article 89 § 2) or if the possibility of a visit is not provided for by the Code (for example, a long-term visit during the first ten years of serving the sentence, or if the permitted number of visits has been exceeded). Also, in accordance with Article 118 of the Code, convicts who have been placed in solitary confinement as a punishment for a breach of prison rules are not allowed to have visits. 39.     Under Article 89 § 3, upon request, a long-term visit may be replaced by a short-term one and both short- and long-term visits may be replaced by a telephone call. 40.     All convicted prisoners are entitled to receive and send an unlimited number of letters, postcards and telegrams (Article 91 § 1). Prisoners’ correspondence with their relatives and their parcels are subject to automatic monitoring by the colony staff (Articles   90 § 4 and 91   §   1). 2.     Types of facilities and regimes in Russian penitentiary establishments 41.     Under Article 58 of the Criminal Code (see paragraph 33 above), there are five main types of penitentiary establishments in which prisoners serve their sentences, depending on the gravity of the crimes they have committed. In the various types of colonies, convicted prisoners are subject to three levels of prison regime, namely ordinary, facilitated and strict regimes, depending on various factors, including the gravity of the crimes they have committed and their behaviour in prison. In prisons there are two types of regime, a strict regime and a common regime. 42.     Under Article 129 of the Code of Execution of Criminal Sentences, convicted prisoners in settlement colonies may reside with family members in the colony premises, where permission for that arrangement has been granted by the prison governor. 43.     In accordance with Article 121, in common-regime correctional colonies convicted prisoners’ contacts with the outside world are limited to: (a)     under the ordinary regime, six short-term and four long-term visits per year and the receipt of six large and six small parcels (newly arrived detainees or those transferred from the strict or facilitated regimes on account of an improvement or deterioration in their behaviour, see Article   120); (b)     under the facilitated regime, six short-term and six long-term visits per year and the receipt of four large and four small parcels (on expiry of the initial six months of imprisonment and on condition of good behaviour and a good attitude towards work, newly arrived detainees may be transferred to this regime, see Article 120); (c)     under the strict regime, two short-term and two long-term visit per year and the receipt of twelve large and twelve small parcels (prisoners are transferred to this regime in the event of repeated violations of internal order, a transfer back to the ordinary regime being possible only on expiry of a six-month period, see Article 120). 44.     Under Article 123 of the Code, the contacts of convicted prisoners in strict-regime correctional colonies with the outside world are limited to: (a)     under the ordinary regime, three short-term and three long-term visits per year and the receipt of three large and three small parcels (all newly arrived detainees, except for those convicted of intentional crimes committed while serving their prison sentence, or those transferred from a strict or facilitated regime on account of an improvement or deterioration in their behaviour, see Article 122); (b)     under the facilitated regime, four short-term and four long-term visits per year and the receipt of four large and four small parcels (on expiry of the initial nine months of imprisonment and on condition of good behaviour and a good attitude towards work, detainees may be transferred from the ordinary regime to this one, see Article 122); (c)     under the strict regime, two short-term and one long-term visit per year and the receipt of two large and two small parcels (prisoners are transferred to this regime in the event of repeated violations of internal order, a transfer back to the ordinary regime being possible only on expiry of the nine-month period; prisoners convicted of intentional crimes committed while serving their sentences are transferred to this regime directly, see Article 122). 45.     Under Article 130 of the Code, there are two regimes in prisons, a common regime and a strict regime. Under the common regime, convicted prisoners’ contacts with the outside world are limited to two short-term and two long-term visits per year, whilst under the strict regime detainees are entitled to two short-term visits per year. 46.     All newly arrived detainees or those transferred from the ordinary regime on account of repeated violations of the internal rules serve their sentences under the strict regime, a transfer to the ordinary regime being possible on expiry of a twelve-month period (Article 130). 3.     Detention in special-regime correctional colonies 47.     Within special-regime correctional colonies convicted prisoners serve their sentences under one of the following internal regimes: (a)     Ordinary regime 48.     Under this regime prisoners live in dormitories and have the right to two short-term and two long-term family visits per year (Article 125 § 1). They also have the right to receive three large parcels and three small parcels per year. All newly arrived detainees, except for those convicted of intentional crimes committed while serving their prison sentence and those sentenced to life imprisonment (see paragraph 52 below), or those transferred from a strict or facilitated regime on account of an improvement or deterioration in their behaviour (Article 124) are placed under this regime. (b)     Facilitated regime 49.     Under this regime prisoners live in dormitories and have the right to three short-term and three long-term family visits per year (Article 125 § 2). They are also entitled to receive four large parcels and four small parcels per year. On expiry of the initial twelve months of imprisonment and on condition of good behaviour and a good attitude towards work, detainees may be transferred from the ordinary regime to this one (Article 124). (c)     Strict regime 50 .     Under the strict regime, convicts live in cells and have the right to two short-term visits per year (Article 125 § 3). The Code does not allow convicts serving their sentence under the strict regime to receive long ‑ term visits by relatives.   Prisoners placed under the strict regime may receive one large parcel and one small parcel a year (Article 125 § 3). Prisoners are transferred to this regime in the event of repeated violations of internal order, a transfer back to the ordinary regime being possible only after expiry of a twelve-month period. Prisoners convicted of intentional crimes committed while serving their sentences are transferred to this regime directly (Article 124). 51 .     Telephone calls for prisoners under the strict regime may take place only in exceptional personal circumstances (Article 92 § 3). The telephone conversations of detainees may be monitored by the colony staff (Article 92 § 5). (d)     Rules applicable to convicts sentenced to life imprisonment 52 .     All convicts sentenced to life imprisonment are placed in a strict regime upon arrival in the special-regime correctional colony; they serve their sentences separately from other convicts in cells holding no more than two persons (Articles 126 and 127 § 3). Prisoners may be transferred to the ordinary regime after serving at least ten years of their sentence, the ten ‑ year term starting, as a general rule, from the date of the arrest (Article   127 § 3). Where a prisoner misbehaved seriously during his detention on remand and was punished with solitary confinement, the ten-year term starts running as of his placement in the special-regime correctional colony instead of the date of his arrest. Life prisoners may be placed under the facilitated regime after serving at least ten years of their sentence under the ordinary regime (Article 127 § 3). 53 .     A convict under the facilitated regime of imprisonment who is found to be wilfully disobedient is to be transferred to the ordinary regime, and a wilfully disobedient offender under the ordinary regime is transferred to the strict regime. Subsequent transfer back to the ordinary or facilitated regime may take place only after serving ten years (Article 127 § 5). D.     Rules of internal order of penitentiary establishments, approved by the Ministry of Justice on 3 November 2005 (no. 205) 54.     The relevant provisions of the rules state as follows: 1.     Chapter XIV. Procedure for granting visits to convicted prisoners “... 68.     Permission for a visit is granted by the governor of a penitentiary establishment or by a person replacing him/her, upon the request of a convicted person or the person who arrives for a visit ... [the grounds for refusal shall be indicated]. 72. ... Joining visits together or splitting visits into one or more parts is not permitted ... 74. A convicted person is allowed to have a ... visit from no more than two adults who may be accompanied by the convicted person’s minor siblings, children or grandchildren. 75. Long-term visits with persons other than [family members] may only be allowed if, in the view of the administration, such visits would not adversely affect the convicted person ... 82. A decision to change in the type of visit or a change a visit into a telephone call may be made on a written request from the convicted prisoner. 2.     Chapter XV. Procedure for granting convicted prisoners an opportunity to make a telephone call “... 85. An opportunity to make a telephone call is given upon a written request by a convicted prisoner, in which the address, the number of the addressee of the call and the duration of the call (which is not to exceed fifteen minutes) are to be specified. 86. Telephone calls are paid for by convicted prisoners at their own expense or at the expense of their relatives or other [interested] persons. Telephone calls may be monitored by the prison administration ... 89. Convicted prisoners who are detained under a strict regime ... are allowed to make a telephone call only in exceptional personal circumstances (death or serious life-threatening disease of a close relative; a natural disaster which inflicted serious pecuniary damage to the convicted prisoner or his family) ...” E.     Case-law of the Constitutional Court 55 .     On a number of occasions the Constitutional Court has addressed the issue of the constitutionality of the provisions governing the conditions of detention under the strict regime in special-regime correctional colonies. 1.     Ruling no. 466-O of 21 December 2004 56 .     In a case brought by a convicted prisoner G., the Constitutional Court ruled as follows: “... In his application Mr G. asked to find unconstitutional Article 127 § 3 of the Code of Execution of Criminal Sentences, which does not provide for the possibility of including the period of a convict’s detention in a remand prison in the term of detention under strict conditions in a special-regime correctional colony, and thus prevents the transfer of a convict to less restrictive conditions [earlier that would otherwise have been possible] ... 2.1.     The issue of the constitutionality of the provisions of the Code of Execution of Criminal Sentences which set out the rules for calculating the term of serving a   sentence of imprisonment and which has an impact on the possibility of transferring a convicted person to less restrictive conditions or other improvements of the conditions for serving sentences, has already been examined by the Constitutional Court. In its judgment of 27 February 2003 in a case reviewing the constitutionality of the provisions of Article 130 § 1 of the Code of Execution of Criminal Sentences, the Constitutional Court of Russia concluded that the term of the detention on remand is to be included in the overall length of the sentence, and in the terms of serving a   sentence used for calculations when deciding whether to grant release on parole. Such an approach, as the Constitutional Court has noted, corresponds to international standards ... On the strength of the above-stated legal position, Article 127 § 3 of the Code of Execution of Criminal Sentences may not be interpreted as prohibiting the inclusion of the period of detention [or] the time during which a measure of restraint in the form of arrest was used in the term of imprisonment, including the part which, in accordance with the procedure established by law, is to be served in strict conditions ...” 2.     Ruling no. 248-O of 9 June 2005 57 .     In the case brought by a convicted prisoner Mr Z. and his wife the Constitutional Court ruled as follows: “... Mr Z., ... [who was] sentenced to life imprisonment, and his wife ... have repeatedly requested the administration of the penitentiary facilities to provide them with a long-term visit since they wish to have a child ... the visits have been refused with reference to Article 125 § 3 and Article 127 § 3 of the Code of Execution of Criminal Sentences, in accordance with which persons serving their sentence in a   special-regime correctional colony in the strict conditions are entitled to two short ‑ term visits annually, and the first long-term visit may be granted not earlier than after the first ten years of imprisonment have been served. In their complaint Z. and [his wife] challenge the constitutionality of these provisions, alleging that they deprive them of the possibility to have children and thus violate their right to respect for private and family life, guaranteed by Article 23 § 1 of the Constitution, and that they restrict their rights to an extent greater than foreseen in Article   55 § 3 of the Constitution. ... Article 55 § 3 of the Constitution allows for the possibility of restricting human and civil rights by federal law as a means of protecting the basis of the constitutional regime, morality, health, the rights and lawful interests of others, securing the defence of the country and State security. Such restrictions may be linked, in particular, with the application of criminal sanctions against offenders in the form of coercion by the State, the distinctive feature of which is that, throughout its execution, the offender’s rights and freedom are withdrawn or restricted and certain duties are imposed. ... Article 71 (о) of the Constitution empowers the federal legislature to introduce restrictive measures of this sort. In providing for imprisonment as one of the forms of punishment, the State is acting both in its own interests, and in the interests of society and its members. At the same time, enforcement [of this punishment] changes the rhythm of a person’s life and relationships with other people, and has specific moral and psychological consequences, limiting not only that person’s rights and freedoms as a citizen, but also his or her rights as an individual. This restriction results from his or her unlawful conduct and is determined by the need to limit his or her natural right to freedom in order to protect morality and the rights and lawful interests of others. The criminal and prison legislation defines both the criminal sanctions - entailing a   range of restrictions corresponding to the gravity of the offence - and the manner in which such sanctions are to be served. In defining those sanctions, the legislature proceeds on the basis that convicts enjoy, as a whole, the same rights and freedoms as other citizens, with the exceptions determined by their individual personalities, the offences committed by them and the specific regime in correctional facilities. The restrictions laid down both in Articles 125 and 127 of the Code on the Execution of Criminal Sentences and in other provisions of that Code, including those which concern the procedure for receiving visits from relatives and others, are intended to tailor sentences to individual offenders and to differentiate the conditions for serving sentences, and to create the preconditions for achieving the aims of punishment, which, as stated by Article 43 § 2 of the Criminal Code, are the restoration of justice, reform of the offender and the prevention of new crimes. The need for statutory regulation of family visits arises both from the provisions of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under any Form of Detention of Imprisonment, approved by the UN General Assembly on 9 December 1998, and in particular from its Principle 19... The European Court of Human Rights has pointed out in its decisions that, in order to clarify the obligations imposed on Contracting States by Article 8 of the Convention ... in relation to prison visits, regard must be had to the ordinary and reasonable requirements of imprisonment and to the resultant degree of discretion which the national authorities must be allowed in regulating a prisoner’s contact with his family, bearing in mind that “any detention entails by its nature a limitation on private and family life”... Limitations on the frequency, duration and conditions of prison visits are inevitable consequences of this measure of punishment, consisting in the convict’s isolation in a   given location under guard. From this perspective, the provisions being challenged by the applicant do not in themselves represent additional restrictions over and above those which, within the meaning of Article 55 § 3 of the Constitution, result from the very essence of a punishment such as imprisonment. Equally, the range of restrictions is diverse and varies depending on, firstly, the gravity of the sentence imposed by the court, corresponding to the nature and degree of public danger posed by the crime, the circumstances in which it was committed and the perpetrator’s personality. The greatest number of such restrictions is envisaged for persons who have been sentenced to life imprisonment as an alternative to the death penalty, for the most serious offences against life (Article 57 § 1 of the Criminal Code) and for those serving their sentences in special-regime colonies (Article 58 §   1   (2) of the Criminal Code). The right to privacy (Article 23 § 1 of the Constitution) means the State-guaranteed opportunity provided to a person to control personal information and to prevent the disclosure of information of a personal and intimate nature. The concept of “private life” includes that area of human activity that pertains to an individual alone, concerns only him or her and is not subject to supervision by society and the State, provided that it is not unlawful. However, as the Eur