CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;COMMITTEE;ENG — 24 octobre 2024

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ROMANIA (Applications nos. 14180/20 and 12 others – see appended list)             JUDGMENT   STRASBOURG 24 October 2024   This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Bucşa and Others v. Romania, The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:   Anne Louise Bormann , President ,   Sebastian Răduleţu,   Mateja Đurović , judges , and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 3 October 2024, 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. In application no. 39971/21, the applicant also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention. 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 principally of the inadequate conditions of their detention. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention. 7.     In application no. 53707/20, the Government raised a preliminary objection concerning the loss of the victim status by the applicant for the periods of detention specified in the appended table because he was 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 the applicant in this application, and he was, 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 this part of application no. 53707/20 is incompatible ratione personae with the provisions of the Convention and must be declared inadmissible in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the Convention. 10.     The Government further argued that the applicants had failed to exhaust the available effective remedies for the complaints about the inadequate conditions of their detention, as an action in tort was an effective remedy for grievances similar to those of the applicants, allowing them to have the violation of the Convention acknowledged, either explicitly or in substance, and to receive adequate and sufficient compensation at the domestic level, and invited the Court to declare these applications inadmissible. 11.     The Court recalls that in Polgar v. Romania , §§ 94-96, it held that an action in tort, based on Articles 1349 and 1357 of the Romanian Civil Code, as interpreted consistently by the national courts, had represented since 13   January 2021 an effective remedy for individuals who considered that they had been subjected to inadequate conditions of detention and who were no longer held in conditions that were allegedly contrary to the Convention (see also Vlad v. Romania , (dec.), no. 122/17, §§ 30-33, 15 November 2022). 12.     The Court notes that, in applications nos. 14180/20, 34852/20, 42508/20, 43704/20, 434/21, 38654/21 39971/21 and 61643/21 the applicants were transferred after 13 January 2021 for periods longer than eight days (see, mutatis mutandis, Cloşcă and Others v. Romania , nos. 54609/15 and 2 others, §§ 11 and 13, 8 October 2020) to detention facilities about which they did not raise any complaints. Subsequently, they were transferred to detention facilities where they had been held again in conditions that were allegedly contrary to the Convention (see the appended table for further details). 13.     Since the applicants temporarily ceased to be held in conditions of detention that were allegedly contrary to the Convention after the moment when the tort action had been considered as representing an effective remedy (see, mutatis mutandis, Polgar , § 96 and Vlad , § 23, both cited above), but did not inform the Court of having brought such an action before the domestic courts in respect of their detention (i) from 9 March 2011 to 28   July 2022, as regards the applicant in application no. 14180/20, (ii) from 23   December 2019 to 11 September 2022, as regards the applicant in application no.   34852/20, (iii) from 25 April 2019 to 20 June 2022, as regards the applicant in application no. 42508/20, (iv) from the 24 December 2019 to 9   August   2021, as regards the applicant in application no. 43704/20, (v) from 23   December 2019 to 21 November 2022 as regards the applicant in application no. 434/21, (vi) from 23 December 2019 to 4 July 2022, as regards the applicant in application no. 38654/21, (vii) from 23 December 2019 to 2   May 2022, as regards the applicant in application no. 39971/21, and (viii)   from 15   November 2021 to 14 March 2022, as regards the applicant in application no. 61643/21, the Court accepts the Government’s objection and finds that these applicants’ complaints related to these periods of detention must be dismissed for failure to exhaust domestic remedies. 14.     As regards the remaining applicants, the Court dismisses the Government’s objection of non-exhaustion of domestic remedies, because they cannot be reproached for not having exhausted the tort action domestically, since they were either released before 13 January 2021 when the civil tort action became an effective remedy (see Polgar , §§ 94-99; a   contrario , Vlad , §§ 30-33, both cited above) or are still in detention and have continuously been suffering from inadequate conditions and cannot bring their grievances to the attention of the domestic courts through an effective remedy. 15.     Moreover, the Government considered the complaints related to the periods in which the applicants had a living space of more than 3 sq. m to be manifestly ill-founded. 16.     The Court notes that the relevant principles of its case-law in relation to overcrowding were set out in Muršić v. Croatia [GC], no. 7334/13, §§   96 ‑ 101, 20 October 2016, and that a violation of Article 3 will be found if the space factor is coupled with other aspects of inappropriate conditions of detention. The details of the applicants’ detention are indicated in the appended table. The length of an individual’s detention under specified conditions must also be taken into account (see, for example, Story and   Others v. Malta , nos. 56854/13 and 2 others, §§ 112-113, 29 October 2015). Since the applicants complained before the Court of other aspects of inappropriate conditions of detention (see appended table for further details), the objection raised by the Government must be dismissed. 17.     Turning to 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 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 in conjunction with other material aspects of detention (see Muršić , cited above, §§ 122-41, and Ananyev and Others v.   Russia , nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 149-59, 10 January 2012). 18.     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. 19.     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, as described in the appended table, were inadequate. 20.     These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention. REMAINING COMPLAINTS 21.     The applicant in application no. 39971/21 also raised other complaints under various Articles of the Convention. 22.     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. 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 23.     Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case ‑ law (see, in particular, Rezmiveș 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 these complaints disclose a breach of Article   3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention during the periods indicated in the appended table; 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 24 October 2024, pursuant to Rule   77   §§   2 and   3 of the Rules of Court.     Viktoriya Maradudina   Anne Louise Bormann   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 Sq. m per inmate Specific grievances Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros) [1]     14180/20 19/06/2020 Daniel Vasile BUCŞA 1970       Gherla Prison 26/08/2022 pending More than 1 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 16 day(s) 2.48 m² overcrowding, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of fresh air 3,000     34852/20 14/01/2021 Marian NICULA 1976       Deva and Aiud Prisons; Dej Prison Hospital 29/09/2022 pending More than 1 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 13 day(s) 2.16-2.88 m² overcrowding (save for 30/09/2022-06/10/2022, 16/12/2022-22/12/2022, 28/12/2022-18/05/2023), mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food 3,000     42508/20 01/03/2021 Paul-Mihail LUPAŞCU 1982       Botoșani Prison 09/08/2022 pending More than 1 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 2 day(s) 2.76-2.85 m² overcrowding (12/05/2023-18/05/2023 and 03/07/2023-06/07/2023), infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air       3,000     43704/20 20/02/2021 Gheorghe RADU 1982       Jilava Prison 30/01/2023 pending More than 1 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 12 day(s) 1.87-2.36 m² overcrowding, lack of or insufficient natural light, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of potable water, lack of fresh air 3,000     50971/20 11/01/2021 Ruben-Aurel NICOLESCU 1974       Bucharest Central Arrest, Bucharest ‑ Rahova, Mioveni Giurgiu;Bucharest-Jilava, Bucharest ‑ Rahova and Mioveni Prison Hospitals 06/02/2009 to 23/07/2012 3 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 18 day(s)   Bucharest- Jilava, Bucharest-Rahova, Timișoara, Constanța - Poarta Albă (including Valu lui Traian Exterior Section) 23/12/2019 pending More than 4 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 19 day(s) 1.89-290 m²                 2.18-2.79 m² overcrowding (save for 24/03/2009-02/06/2010, 25/11/2010-21/12/2010, 17/11/2011-28/11/2011, 24/04/2012-23/07/2012), mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, poor quality of food     overcrowding (save for 23/12/2019-14/01/2020, 28/09/2020-05/10/2020, 12/10/2020-15/10/2020, 16/04/2021-04/05/2021), infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of potable water 5,000     53707/20 08/01/2021 Marian NOVAC 1986       Giurgiu, Slobozia and Constanța - Poarta Albă (including Valu lui Traian Exterior Section) 23/12/2019 to 12/01/2021 1 year(s) and 21 day(s)           3,000     434/21 05/03/2021 Victor ZOLTAN 1988       Arad and Aiud Prisons 03/04/2023 pending More than 1 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 1 day(s) 1.72 m² overcrowding (save for 07/04/2023-10/07/2023), infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, poor quality of food, no or insufficient disinfection of barbering and haircutting tools, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities 3,000     7466/21 20/01/2021 Floare VARGA 1962   Irina Maria Peter Bucharest Gherla Prison 23/12/2019 to 30/09/2020 9 month(s) and 8 day(s) 2.06-2.11 m² overcrowding, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food 1,000     7727/21 26/02/2021 Genorian Dumitru MOISE 1975       Arad Police County Station; Arad, Deva and Timişoara Prisons 17/01/2014 pending More than 10 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 3 day(s)   lack of or insufficient natural light, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water 5,000   30902/21 08/07/2021 Vasilică IONIŢĂ 1986       Buzău County Police Station; Mărgineni and Focşani Prisons 31/07/2020 pending More than 3 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 13 day(s) 1.42-2.84 m² overcrowding (save for 31/07/2020-30/10/2020), lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, inadequate temperature, poor quality of food, mouldy or dirty cell 3,000   38654/21 30/08/2021 Iulian IONIŢĂ 1979       Bucharest-Jilava Prison 24/11/2022 pending More than 1 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 19 day(s)   infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack or inadequate furniture 3,000   39971/21 27/12/2021 Zamfirel ISOFACHE 1987       Galaţi Prison 17/05/2022 pending More than 1 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 14 day(s) 2.25 m² overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air 3,000   61643/21 07/02/2022 Adriana-Maria RĂDULESCU 1985       Târgşorul Nou Prison 25/03/2022 pending More than 2 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 21 day(s) 1.64-2.69 m² overcrowding (save for 13/07/2022-30/08/2022; 20/01/2023-24/02/2023), mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to warm water, bunk beds, poor quality of food, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or insufficient natural light, inadequate temperature 3,000   [1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.