Motoi and Others v. Romania

FOURTH SECTION

Application no. 41088/14 Ion MOTOI against Romania and 14 other applications (see appended table)

The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 24 May 2018 as a Committee composed of:

Vincent A. De Gaetano, President, Georges Ravarani, Marko Bošnjak, judges, and Liv Tigerstedt, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,

Having regard to the declarations submitted by the respondent Government requesting the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

The list of applicants is set out in the appended table.

The applicants’ complaints under Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention were communicated to the Romanian Government (“the Government”).

THE LAW

Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.

After unsuccessful friendly-settlement negotiations, the Government informed the Court that they proposed to make unilateral declarations with a view to resolving the issues raised by these complaints. They further requested the Court to strike out the applications in accordance with Article 37 of the Convention.

The Government acknowledged the inadequate conditions of detention. They offered to pay the applicants the amounts detailed in the appended table and invited the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention. The amounts would be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and would be payable within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision. In the event of failure to pay these amounts within the above-mentioned three-month period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on them, from the expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.

The payment will constitute the final resolution of the cases.

The applicants were sent the terms of the Government’s unilateral declarations several weeks before the date of this decision. The Court has not received a response from the applicants accepting the terms of the declarations.

The Court observes that Article 37 § 1 (c) enables it to strike a case out of its list if:

“... for any other reason established by the Court, it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application”.

Thus, it may strike out applications under Article 37 § 1 (c) on the basis of a unilateral declaration by a respondent Government even if the applicants wish the examination of the cases to be continued (see, in particular, Tahsin Acar v. Turkey (preliminary objections) [GC], no. 26307/95, §§ 75 ‑ 77, ECHR 2003-VI).

The Court has established clear and extensive case-law concerning complaints relating to the inadequate conditions of detention (see, for example, Rezmiveș and Others v. Romania, nos. 61467/12 and 3 others, 25 April 2017).

Noting the admissions contained in the Government’s declarations as well as the amount of compensation proposed – which is consistent with the amounts awarded in similar cases – the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the applications (Article 37 § 1 (c)).

In the light of the above considerations, the Court is satisfied that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto does not require it to continue the examination of the applications (Article 37 § 1 in fine ).

Finally, the Court emphasises that, should the Government fail to comply with the terms of their unilateral declarations, the applications may be restored to the list in accordance with Article 37 § 2 of the Convention ( Josipović v. Serbia (dec.), no. 18369/07, 4 March 2008).

In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the cases out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to join the applications;

Takes note of the terms of the respondent Government’s declarations and of the arrangements for ensuring compliance with the undertakings referred to therein;

Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention.

Done in English and notified in writing on 14 June 2018.

Liv Tigerstedt Vincent A. De Gaetano 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 name

Date of birth

Representative name and location

Date of receipt of Government’s declaration

Date of receipt of applicant’s comments, if any

Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses

per applicant

(in euros) [i]

41088/14

21/07/2014

Ion Motoi

08/08/1966

Carmen

Boghină

Bucharest

11/01/2018

2,700

9376/15

12/03/2015

Radu-Teodor Iov

01/10/1975

19/12/2017

2,700

9792/15

23/03/2015

Levente Balazs

18/12/1984

19/12/2017

2,700

21161/15

25/05/2015

Dumitru-Cristian Răsniceanu

21/01/1976

18/01/2018

4,500

39632/15

07/09/2015

Gabriel Sugeac

17/02/1972

09/01/2018

4,500

51462/15

08/01/2016

Antonius-Paul Corbu

25/06/1978

20/03/2018

09/04/2018

900

226/16

01/02/2016

Ștefan Neagu

30/01/1981

30/01/2018

2,700

5824/16

14/03/2016

Gheorghe-Daniel Muntean

07/11/1978

30/01/2018

07/03/2018

4,500

13832/16

31/03/2016

Árpád Benedek

13/08/1988

30/01/2018

2,700

19583/16

27/06/2016

Tudorel Trofin

17/09/1978

11/12/2017

3,000

20779/16

30/09/2016

Marinel Brișcaru

05/12/1967

18/01/2018

2,700

23055/16

18/04/2016

Daniel-Ghiţă Sîrbu

27/02/1967

25/01/2018

22/03/2018

2,700

41000/16

23/08/2016

Eman Vătămăniță

14/05/1978

15/01/2018

2,700

42318/16

20/09/2016

Adrian-Marcel Stoica

12/03/1972

16/02/2018

04/04/2018

2,700

58818/16

07/11/2016

Laurențiu-Constantin Petre

29/10/1983

18/01/2018

2,700

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