detention

ECHR Rules Russia Can Compensate Prisoners for Inadequate Detention Conditions

By: Genna Amick

Journal of Global Rights and Organizations, Associate Articles Editor

MOSCOW, Russia – On April 9, 2020, the European Court of Human Rights (“ECHR”) ruled on the admissibility of six applicants who applied for compensatory damages under Russia’s 2019 Compensation Act.

Entering into force in January 2020, the Compensation Act provides detainees who are held in pre-trial detention facilities with financial compensation if they suffered from inadequate detention conditions that violated national or international standards. Russia adopted the Compensation Act in response to rulings from two earlier cases from the ECHR, which required that Russia take action regarding the inhumane, degrading conditions of their pre-trial detention centers.

One of the main issues faced by pre-trial detention centers in Russia is overcrowding. This has been a problem for years, likely due to Russian courts approving prosecutorial requests for pre-trial custody in 90.7% of cases. The complaints of the six applicants in this case all involve alleged overcrowding.

The applicants, who filed on various dates in 2017 and 2018, relied on both Article 3 and Article 13 of the European Convention. Article 3 prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment. Applicants used Article 13, which ensures the right to an effective remedy, to complain that Russia lacked an effective domestic remedy for their inhumane pre-trial detention conditions. Although the applicants filed their complaints two to three years before the Compensation Act went into effect, the Court did not review their applications until after the Act was in effect. Therefore, all six applicants’ claims were deemed inadmissible as the Court held that the Compensation Act is an effective domestic remedy to their claims.

The ECHR found the Compensation Act to be an effective method of compensatory redress for applicants who had already been released from a pre-trial detention center but had suffered through improper detention conditions while there. The Court based this ruling on a number of factors, such as that the remedy has the requisite procedural guarantees, it is accessible to the people who may need it, and it offers applicants a reasonable likelihood of success. The Court also based their decision on an assumption that claims would be processed in a reasonable time period and that compensation would be paid promptly to applicants who qualified for redress.

The Court stated that released detainees may qualify for compensation under the Compensation Act if, during their detention, they did not receive the standard amount of space per detainee that is required under Article 3 of the European Convention, which is 3 square meters per detainee. All six applicants’ complaints alleged they received less than 3 square meters; therefore, they are all eligible to apply for redress under the Compensation Act. Since the applicants at issue filed a few years before the Act went into effect, they have 180 days from the publication of the ECHR’s ruling to avail themselves of the remedy provided by the Compensation Act.

Despite the ECHR finding the Compensation Act to be an effective remedy for released detainees, the ECHR reserved their judgment on whether the Act can be effective as a preventative remedy for applicants who are still being detained.

For further information, please see:

HUDOC – Shmelev and Others v. Russia – remedies for complaints about poor conditions of detention – 9 Apr. 2020

Human Rights Watch – Russia’s Pretrial Prisons Vulnerable as COVID-19 Spreads – 24 Mar. 2020

Citing Article 8, ECHR Grants Psychiatric Patient Right to Attend a Family Funeral

By: Michelle Leal

Journal of Global Rights and Organizations, Associate Articles Editor 

PĀDURENI-GRAJURI, Romania – On October 8, 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (“ECHR”) held that the Romanian Government unfairly restricted a citizen from attending her mother’s funeral, thus violating Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Luminiţa Zamfira Solcan is a Romanian national currently living in a psychiatric facility in Pădureni-Grajduri. In 2005, Solcan committed a murder in France.

During the criminal investigation, medical experts diagnosed Solcan with paranoid schizophrenia. Further, the experts opined that Solcan’s acts were due to her paranoid delusions. The Mâcon County Court discontinued the criminal investigation against Solcan, opining that she committed the offense in a state of diminished responsibility. The court ordered Solcan’s placement in a psychiatric facility in France for an unspecified time.

In 2011, Solcan requested to be transferred to a facility in Romania to be closer to her mother. In 2012, Solcan was transferred to a psychiatric facility in Pădureni-Grajduri. About a year later, Solcan’s mother died.

The day after her mother’s death, Solcan lodged a request with the Iaşi District Court for leave to attend her mother’s funeral. However, a month later, the court refused to grant Solcan’s leave. The court determined that under Article 39 of the Mental Health Act, the safety of others justified Solcan’s continuous detention.

Solcan filed an appeal, arguing that the laws allowing the temporary interruption of a custodial sentence for family reasons should also apply to detentions in psychiatric facilities. The court dismissed Solcan’s appeal, determining that the laws regarding the temporary interruption of imprisonment on family grounds did not apply to Solcan’s circumstances.

Before the ECHR, Solcan alleged that the authorities violated Article 8, the Right to Respect for Private and Family Life, by not allowing her leave of her involuntary psychiatric hospitalization to attend her mother’s funeral. The Court noted that any interference with an individual’s right to respect for her private and family life constituted an Article 8 breach unless the interference was necessary or in accordance with the law.

The Court first determined that the refusal to grant Solcan leave to attend her mother’s funeral was an interference under Article 8. Secondly, the Court found that the interference was an Article 8 breach because it was not necessary. The Court referenced relevant case law, which concluded that the State can only refuse an individual the right to attend a parent’s funeral for compelling reasons and if there is no alternative. The Court stated that neither the first-instance court or the Iaşi County Court accurately assessed Solcan’s situation. Moreover, the Court noted that due to the seriousness of the situation, the domestic courts should have explored alternative ways for Solcan to attend the funeral. The Court stated that the domestic courts failed to consider alternatives like escorted or compassionate leave.  Considering the seriousness regarding Solcan’s request and the domestic courts’ failure to consider alternatives, the Court found that the denial of leave was not necessary.

Ultimately, the Court determined that there had been a violation of Article 8 of the Convention and awarded Solcan six thousand euros for non-pecuniary damages.

For further information, please see:

ECHR Case Law – Failure to Allow a Psychiatric Detainee to Attend her Mother’s Funeral Violates her Right to Family Life – 20 Oct. 2019

European Court of Human Rights – Case of Solcan v. Romania – 8 Oct. 2019

European Court of Human Rights- Guide on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights – 31 Aug. 2019