UTA AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA - 39422/16 (Judgment : Article 3 - Prohibition of torture : Fourth Section Committee) [2023] ECHR 402 (11 May 2023)

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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> UTA AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA - 39422/16 (Judgment : Article 3 - Prohibition of torture : Fourth Section Committee) [2023] ECHR 402 (11 May 2023) URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2023/402.html Cite as: ECLI:CE:ECHR:2023:0511JUD003942216, CE:ECHR:2023:0511JUD003942216, [2023] ECHR 402

In the case of Uța and Others v. Romania,

The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:

          Tim Eicke, President,
          Branko Lubarda,
          Ana Maria Guerra Martins, judges,

and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 6 April 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. Following the death of Mr Li Calzi (application no. 36722/17), his wife and daughter informed the Court of their wish to pursue the application introduced by the applicant.

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

I. 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.

II. THE LOCUS STANDI ISSUE FOR APPLICATION NO. 36722/17

6. On 28 July 2022, after the communication of the case, the representative of the applicant in application no. 36722/17 informed the Court that the applicant, Mr Li Calzi, had died on 16 November 2021 and that the applicant’s wife, Ms Francesca Rapisarda and the applicant’s daugther, Ms Antonietta Li Calzi, wanted to pursue the application in their father’s stead.

7. The representative submitted documents issued by a local authority according to which Ms Francesca Rapisarda and Ms Antonietta Li Calzi are the applicant’s family members.

8. This information and documents were communicated to the Government for information. The Government replied by asking for the application to be struck out of the Court’s list of cases. They argued that the rights invoked by the applicant are strictly personal in nature and that the alleged violation is not closely linked to the death of the applicant.

9. The Court considers that the documents provided are sufficient to prove the legal standing of the heirs. Moreover, the Court considers that the applicant’s close relatives have a legitimate interest in obtaining the findings of the violations of the Convention alleged by the late applicant (see, mutatis mutandis, Morgoci v. the Republic of Moldova, no. 13421/06, §§ 37‑42, 12 January 2016 and Sandu and Others v. Romania [Committee], nos. 27855/17 and 19 others, §§ 6-10, 16 December 2021).

10. Accordingly, the Court decides that Ms Francesca Rapisarda and Ms Antonietta Li Calzi have standing to continue the proceedings in respect of application no. 36722/17 on behalf of late Mr Li Calzi.

III. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 3 OF THE CONVENTION

11. The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of their detention. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention.

12. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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).

16. 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.

17. 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 during the periods described in the appended table were inadequate.

18. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.

IV. REMAINING COMPLAINTS

19. In applications nos. 39422/16, 41052/16, 48099/16, 53387/16, 54647/16, 63757/16 and 14317/1, the applicants also raised other complaints under Article 3 of the Convention.

20. 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 applications must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention.

V. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION

21. 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.”

22. 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,

1. Decides to join the applications;

2. Decides that Ms Francesca Rapisarda and Ms Antonietta Li Calzi, the wife and daughter of the applicant in application no. 36722/17, have locus standi in the proceedings;

3. 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;

4. Holds that these complaints disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention, as specified in the appended table below;

5. Holds

(a) that the respondent State is to pay to the heirs of the deceased applicant, Mr Li Calzi, jointly, and to each of the remaining 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 11 May 2023, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

Viktoriya Maradudina Tim Eicke

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	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]
	39422/16 15/09/2016	George-Daniel UȚA 1988	Violeta Uța Târgoviște	Mărgineni Prison 24/12/2019 pending More than 3 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 25 day(s)	2.77 m²	overcrowding, poor quality of potable water, lack of fresh air, lack or inadequate furniture		3,000
	40802/16 26/09/2016	Dumitru-Florin ANGHEL 1979		Deva and Aiud Prisons 24/12/2019 pending More than 3 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 25 day(s)	2.99 m²	overcrowding for certain periods of detention, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, mouldy or dirty cell		3,000
	41052/16 11/07/2016	Cristian KARP 1984		Arad Prison 19/10/2010 to 22/05/2019 8 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 4 day(s)		no or restricted access to shower, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air		5,000
	48099/16 15/09/2016	Adrian PRICOP 1975		Găești and Vaslui Prisons 24/12/2019 pending More than 3 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 25 day(s)		lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of fresh air, lack or inadequate furniture		3,000
	51098/16 09/12/2016	Vlad-Marian BRUMAR 1994		Gherla and Miercurea Ciuc Prisons 22/05/2014 to 22/08/2017 3 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 1 day(s)	1.31-2.36 m²	overcrowding, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, no or restricted access to warm water, poor quality of food		3,000
	53387/16 26/09/2016	Gheorghe MÎȚI 1991		Arad Prison 29/04/2015 to 01/08/2018 3 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 4 day(s) Arad and Timișoara Prisons 30/08/2019 to 14/03/2021 1 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 15 day(s) Timișoara Prison 06/02/2022 pending More than 1 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 15 day(s)		lack of fresh air, lack or inadequate furniture, poor quality of food	18 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 04/05/2019 to 30/08/2019	5,000
	54647/16 23/01/2017	Dionisie ABRAHAM 1986		Aiud Prison 29/05/2014 to 29/09/2015 1 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 1 day(s) Arad Prison 30/06/2017 to 22/11/2021 4 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 24 day(s)	2.43-2.62 m²	overcrowding for certain periods of time, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food	126 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 30/09/2015 to 29/06/2017	5,000
	57887/16 23/11/2016	Vasile GUȘĂ 1976		Giurgiu County Police 03/07/2014 to 18/12/2014 5 month(s) and 16 day(s) Giurgiu Prison 24/12/2019 pending More than 3 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 25 day(s)	2.92 m²	overcrowding for certain periods of time, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, mouldy or dirty cell	392 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 19/12/2014 to 23/12/2019	3,000
	58498/16 27/10/2016	Cristian Adrian IOLI 1976		Tulcea Prison 24/12/2019 pending More than 3 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 25 day(s)	2.60 m²	overcrowding for certain periods of time, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to potable water		3,000
	61322/16 03/01/2017	Olimpiu NEAMȚIU 1969		Bistrița and Gherla Prisons 24/12/2019 pending More than 3 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 25 day(s)	2.13-2.83 m²	overcrowding for most of the period of detention, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to toilet		3,000
	63757/16 19/10/2016	Martin VIDAM 1974	Marcela Măriuca Katona Târgu Mureș	Târgu Mureș, Jilava, Craiova, Aiud, Gherla, Bârcea Mare, Bistrița and Timișoara Prisons and Dej Prison Hospital 26/09/1996 to 28/06/2016 19 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 3 day(s)	1.30-2.74 m²	overcrowding for most of the detention, lack of fresh air, bunk beds, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air		5,000
	64777/16 08/12/2016	Mircea SFETCU 1974		Arad and Aiud Prisons 19/01/2017 to 02/03/2022 5 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 12 day(s)		overcrowding for certain periods of time, poor quality of food, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, infestation of cell with insects/rodents	54 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 04/04/2016 to 19/01/2017	5,000
	66536/16 06/01/2017	Vasile-Dănuț VOIVOD 1964		Codlea, Deva, Jilava and Miercurea Ciuc Prisons and Dej and Jilava Prison Hospitals 27/08/2002 to 23/07/2012 9 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 27 day(s) Codlea Prison 30/03/2017 to 16/09/2017 5 month(s) and 18 day(s)	1.11-2.58 m²	overcrowding, lack or inadequate furniture, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food	348 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 29/03/2017 and from 17/09/2017 to 15/12/2017	5,000
	66721/16 23/12/2016	Aurelian MATEESCU 1978	Nicoleta Trif Arad	Arad, Brăila, Galați, Iași, Mărgineni, Tulcea, Slobozia and Vaslui Prisons and Jilava, Târgu Ocna and Mioveni Prison Hospitals 03/02/2002 to 23/07/2012 10 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 21 day(s) Arad Prison 25/09/2012 to 01/03/2013 5 month(s) and 5 day(s) Arad Prison 09/08/2013 to 02/09/2013 25 day(s) Arad Prison 09/05/2014 to 22/09/2015 1 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 14 day(s)	1.12-2.05 m²	overcrowding for certain periods of time, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food	312 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 07/11/2018 (date of release) (save for the periods mentioned in Column no. 5)	5,000
	2295/17 20/12/2016	Lazăr-Petru HABACI 1990	Trif Nicoleta Arad	Arad County Police and Arad Prisons 22/01/2015 to 24/07/2015 6 month(s) and 3 day(s) Arad Prison 11/09/2015 to 22/06/2016 9 month(s) and 12 day(s) Arad Prison 09/05/2018 to 22/09/2019 1 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 14 day(s) Arad and Timișoara Prisons 08/01/2020 pending More than 3 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 13 day(s)		infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to shower, lack or inadequate furniture	156 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2015 to 07/01/2020 (save for the periods mentioned in Column no. 5)	5,000
	2401/17 27/12/2016	Valentin ROBITU 1985	Nicoleta Trif Arad	Caraș Severin County Police 27/06/2013 to 01/08/2013 1 month(s) and 6 day(s) Arad Prison 06/12/2013 to 30/06/2016 2 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 25 day(s)		infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to warm water, poor quality of food	192 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 01/08/2013 to 06/12/2013 and from 30/06/2016 to 10/10/2018 (date of release)	3,000
	3422/17 08/03/2017	Jozsef JONÁS 1989		Aiud and Târgu Mureș Prisons 24/12/2019 pending More than 3 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 26 day(s)	1.62-2.53 m²	overcrowding for most of the period of detention, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack or inadequate furniture, poor quality of food		3,000
	10985/17 28/02/2017	Gheorghe BREAZU 1990	Irina Maria Peter Bucharest	Timiș County Police, Jilava Prison Hospital and Arad, Rahova and Timișoara Prisons 31/10/2009 to 26/07/2012 2 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 27 day(s) Arad and Rahova Prisons 12/01/2013 to 23/12/2015 2 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 12 day(s) Arad Prison 11/02/2016 to 25/02/2016 15 day(s) Arad Prison 16/06/2016 to 09/03/2017 8 month(s) and 22 day(s) Arad Prison 28/11/2018 pending More than 4 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 21 day(s)	2-2.5 m²	overcrowding for certain periods of time, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to toilet, poor quality of food	162 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 26/07/2012 to 28/11/2018 (save for the periods mentioned in Column no. 5)	5,000
	11359/17 28/02/2017	Iulian BRĂESCU 1980		Iași and Rahova Prisons 05/02/2010 to 23/07/2012 2 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 19 day(s)	1.48 m²	overcrowding, poor quality of food, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents	432 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 18/07/2018 (date of release)	3,000
	14317/17 13/02/2017	Vasile COPTIL 1970		Bistrița and Gherla Prisons 17/10/2013 to 04/10/2016 2 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 18 day(s)	0.98-1.64 m²	infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, poor quality of potable water, overcrowding		3,000
	22678/17 16/03/2017	Alin-Florin BÎŢICĂ 1982		Teleorman County Police 12/09/2014 to 15/10/2014 1 month(s) and 4 day(s) Găești Prison 24/12/2019 to 22/01/2020 30 day(s)	2.79 m²	overcrowding while in Găești Prison, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, poor quality of food	372 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 15/10/2014 to 23/12/2019	1,000
	36722/17 15/05/2017	Giuseppe LI CALZI 1947 Died on 16/11/2021 Heirs Francesca RAPISARDA 1947 Antonietta LI CALZI 1970	Adrian Stancu Oradea	Jilava and Dej Prison Hospitals and Rahova, Oradea and Satu Mare Prisons 15/10/2014 to 07/02/2017 2 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 24 day(s)	1.36-2.89 m²	overcrowding for most of the detention period, lack of fresh air, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food		3,000
	43657/17 27/07/2017	Florin DUNĂ 1986	Doru Ristea Bucharest	Bucharest Police nos. 7 and 12 and Jilava, Rahova, Giurgiu and Slobozia Prisons 10/10/2008 to 09/05/2017 8 year(s) and 7 month(s)	1.30-2.90 m²	infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of potable water, poor quality of food, lack or inadequate furniture, overcrowding		5,000
	48789/17 21/07/2017	Florian CÎRSTEA 1982		Jilava Prison Hospital 20/04/2015 to 27/06/2017 2 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 8 day(s)	1.43-2.64 m²	overcrowding for the period starting from 19/08/2015 to 27/06/2017, bunk beds, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, no or insufficient disinfection of barbering and haircutting tools, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen		3,000
	70658/17 24/10/2017	Mihai-Vasile JENARIU 1986		Bacău Police 18/08/2015 to 15/10/2015 1 month(s) and 27 day(s) Arad Prison 24/10/2016 to 07/12/2016 1 month(s) and 14 day(s) Arad Prison 15/05/2017 to 05/06/2017 22 day(s) Arad Prison 13/07/2017 to 03/11/2017 3 month(s) and 22 day(s) Arad Prison 29/05/2018 to 16/07/2018 1 month(s) and 18 day(s) Arad Prison 23/07/2018 to 02/05/2019 9 month(s) and 10 day(s) Arad Prison 24/12/2019 pending More than 3 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 25 day(s)		lack or inadequate furniture, no or restricted access to toilet, poor quality of food	108 days in compensation for a total period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 16/10/2015 to 23/12/2019 (save for the periods mentioned in Column no. 5)	3,000

[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.