Manolache and Others v. Romania

FOURTH SECTION

Application no. 2427/16 Ion MANOLACHE against Romania and 5 other applications

(see appended table)

The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 13 June 2024 as a Committee composed of:

Branko Lubarda , President , Anne Louise Bormann, Sebastian Răduleţu , judges ,

and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

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

Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government and the observations in reply submitted by the applicants,

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.

The Government argued that the applicants had failed to exhaust the available effective remedies for the complaints about the inadequate conditions of their detention, as the action in tort had become 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 domestic level. By a subsequent letter, the Government expressly referred to Vlad v. Romania (dec.), no. 122/17, 15 November 2022, and invited the Court to declare the cases inadmissible.

The Court recalls that in Polgar v. Romania , no. 39412/19, §§ 94 ‑ 96, 20 July 2021, 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 conditions of detention for the applicants who were no longer being held in conditions that were allegedly contrary to the Convention. Subsequently, in Vlad , cited above, §§ 24 ‑ 32, the Court considered it appropriate to apply an exception to the general principle that the effectiveness of a given remedy was to be assessed with reference to the date on which the application was lodged.

For all the above reasons and in the light of all the material in its possession, since the applicants 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; see the appended table for further details), but did not inform the Court of having brought such an action before the domestic courts, their applications must be dismissed for failure to exhaust domestic remedies.

In the light of the foregoing, the Court considers that these applications must be dismissed on the ground that domestic remedies had not been exhausted, pursuant to Article 35 §§ 1 and 4 of the Convention.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to join the applications;

Declares the applications inadmissible.

Done in English and notified in writing on 4 July 2024.

{signature_p_2}

Viktoriya Maradudina Branko Lubarda 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

2427/16

25/02/2016

Ion MANOLACHE

1972

Vrancea County Police Station;

Focșani, Galați, Jilava and Giurgiu Prisons

04/09/2004 to

29/11/2022

18 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 26 day(s)

38650/16

01/08/2016

Iulian ‑ Petronel

COSTEA

1984

Iaşi Prison

24/12/2019 to

23/07/2022

3 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 18 day(s)

54485/16

03/02/2017

Ştefan VERGA

1961

Galaţi, Giurgiu and Rahova Prisons

04/11/2011 to

23/07/2012

8 month(s) and 20 day(s)

Târgu Ocna Prison Hospital

5 periods

between 27/11/2012 and 14/03/2017

2 month(s) and 2 day(s)

Arad Prison

14/01/2018 to

17/09/2021

3 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 4 day(s)

57033/16

17/10/2016

Nicolae PARASCHIV

1971

Craiova Prison

05/11/2008 to

23/07/2012

3 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 19 day(s)

Craiova ‑ Pelendava Prison

6 periods

between 24/12/2019 and 01/07/2021

1 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 21 day(s)

62801/16

21/12/2016

Cătălin Ioan

MARŞAVELA

1984

Braşov County Police Station; Codlea, Jilava, Gherla, Giurgiu,

Aiud, Mărgineni, Miercurea Ciuc and Târgu Mureş Prisons;

Dej, Rahova, Mioveni and Jilava Prison Hospitals

27/06/2003

03/02/2023

19 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 8 day(s)

43805/19

06/01/2020

Ionuţ IOAN

1985

Rahova, Codlea, Focşani and Botoşani Prisons

15/05/2019

11/02/2021

1 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 28 day(s)