Ouş v. the Republic of Moldova

FIFTH SECTION

Application no. 36414/22 Vladimir OUŞ against the Republic of Moldova

The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting on 17 September 2026 as a Committee composed of:

Andreas Zünd , President , Vahe Grigoryan, Sébastien Biancheri , judges ,

and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having regard to the above application against the Republic of Moldova lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on 15 July 2022,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

The applicant, Mr Vladimir Ouș, was born in 1981. He was represented by Mr D. Cheptea, a lawyer practising in Bălți.

The applicant’s complaints under Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate detention conditions and poor medical care in prison, as well as under Article 13 of the Convention concerning the absence of any effective remedy in respect of his complaint concerning medical care in prison were communicated to the Moldovan Government (“the Government”), who submitted observations on the admissibility and merits on 14 November 2024. Those observations were forwarded to the applicant’s representative via the Court’s electronic communication service (“eComms”), and he was invited to submit observations in reply on behalf of the applicant, together with any claim for just satisfaction.

The applicant’s representative did not activate his eComms account.

By letter dated 22 January 2025, sent by post, the applicant’s representative was notified that the period allowed for submission of the applicant’s observations had expired on 2 January 2025 and that no extension of time had been requested. The applicant’s representative’s attention was drawn to Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention, which provides that the Court may strike an application out of its list of cases where the circumstances lead to the conclusion that the applicant does not intend to pursue the application.

On 25 April and 17 June 2025 similar letters were sent, by registered mail, to the applicant at various addresses provided by him in the file. The letters returned undelivered with a note from the postal service that the letters had either been unclaimed or that the applicant had been released from prison.

The Court has received no letters from the applicant or his representative informing the Court about a change of address. The Registry’s attempts to reach the applicant and his representative were unsuccessful.

THE LAW

In the light of the foregoing, and in the absence of any special circumstances regarding respect for the rights guaranteed by the Convention and the Protocols thereto, the Court, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention, considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application.

Accordingly, the case should be struck out of the list.

The Court, however, reiterates that under Article 37 § 2 of the Convention it may decide to restore the application to its list of cases if it considers that the circumstances justify such a course.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.

Done in English and notified in writing on 8 October 2026.

Viktoriya Maradudina Andreas Zünd Acting Deputy Registrar President