Polyakov and Others v. Russia

THIRD SECTION

Application no. 72589/12 Sergey Sergeyevich POLYAKOV against Russia and 5 other applications

(see appended table)

The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 17 December 2020 as a Committee composed of:

Darian Pavli, President, Dmitry Dedov, Peeter Roosma, 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 Russian Government (“the Government”). In some of the applications, complaints based on the same facts were also communicated under other provisions of the Convention.

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 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 during specific periods of the applicants’ detention. In some of the applications, they further acknowledged that the domestic authorities had violated the applicants’ rights guaranteed by Article 13 of the Convention (see the appended table). 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, the Tahsin Acar v. Turkey judgment (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, Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, 10 January 2012).

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 in the part covered by the unilateral declarations (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 in the part covered by the unilateral declarations (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 (see 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 as regards the complaints concerning the inadequate conditions of detention during specific periods of the applicants’ detention, as well as the other complaints under well-established case-law, namely, under Article 13 of the Convention (see the appended table), as covered by the Government’s unilateral declarations.

The applicants also raised other complaints under various articles of the Convention.

The Court has examined the applications listed in the appended table 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 (see Shmelev and Others v. Russia (dec.), nos. 41743/17 and 16 others, §§ 121-131, 17 March 2020) 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.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to join the applications;

Takes note of the terms of the respondent Government’s declarations concerning the inadequate conditions of detention during specific periods, as well as the other complaints under the well-established case ‑ law (as indicated in the appended table), and of the arrangements for ensuring compliance with the undertakings referred to therein;

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

Declares the remainder of the applications inadmissible.

Done in English and notified in writing on 21 January 2021.

Liv Tigerstedt Darian Pavli 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

Other complaints under well-established case-law

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) [1]

72589/12

29/10/2012

Sergey Sergeyevich POLYAKOV

1983

19/09/2016

-

6,750

6093/17

17/03/2017

Yuliya Viktorovna SHCHIGELSKAYA

1982

Ovchynnykov Oleksandr

15/09/2017

15/11/2017

1,365

18623/17

27/02/2017

Eduard Fanusovich AKHMADULLIN

1968

Ivanov Aleksey Valeryevich

Krasnodar

Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention

15/09/2017

21/11/2017

3,555

69085/17

14/03/2018

Roman Aleksandrovich MALKOV

1979

Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention

04/10/2018

05/12/2018

5,650

81485/17

15/11/2017

Sergey Vasilyevich DANILENKO

1968

Gak Irina Vladimirovna

Rostov-on-Don

16/07/2018

08/10/2018

11,700

23354/18

08/05/2018

Denis Mikhaylovich PROKHORENKOV

1977

Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention

30/10/2018

-

2,260

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