FIFTH SECTION
CASE OF STARZHYNSKA AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE
(Applications nos. 30464/23 and 8 others –
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
16 January 2025
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Starzhynska and Others v. Ukraine,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Diana Sârcu, President,
Kateřina Šimáčková,
Mykola Gnatovskyy, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 5 December 2024,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
1. The case originated in applications against Ukraine lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table.
2. The Ukrainian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the applications.
THE FACTS
3. The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.
4. The applicants complained of the inadequate conditions of their detention and of the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law. Some applicants also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention.
THE LAW
5. Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.
6. The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of their detention during the periods indicted in the appended table and that they had no effective remedy in this connection. They relied on Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention.
7. The Court notes that the applicants were kept in detention in poor conditions. The details of the applicants’ detention are indicated in the appended table. The Court refers to the principles established in its case‑law regarding inadequate conditions of detention (see, for instance, Muršić v. Croatia [GC], no. 7334/13, §§ 96‑101, ECHR 2016). It reiterates in particular that a serious lack of space in a prison cell weighs heavily as a factor to be taken into account for the purpose of establishing whether the detention conditions described are “degrading” from the point of view of Article 3 and may disclose a violation, both alone or taken together with other shortcomings (see Muršić, cited above, §§ 122-41, and Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 149‑59, 10 January 2012).
8. In the leading cases of Melnik v. Ukraine (no. 72286/01, 28 March 2006) and Sukachov v. Ukraine (no. 14057/17, 30 January 2020), the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.
9. Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility and merits of these complaints. In particular, the Court observes that, in reply to a prima facie case of inadequate conditions of detention, complained of by the applicants, the Government have failed to provide any primary evidence showing cell floor plans and the actual number of inmates during the specific periods of the applicants’ detention (see Ananyev and Others, cited above, § 123, and, for example, Sparysh and Kutsmand v. Ukraine [Committee], nos. 49709/18 and 49870/18, 12 September 2024). Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the applicants’ conditions of detention during the periods indicated in the appended table were inadequate.
10. The Court further notes that the applicants did not have at their disposal an effective remedy in respect of these complaints.
11. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention.
12. In applications nos. 30464/23 and 30598/23, the applicants submitted other complaints which also raised issues under Article 5 of the Convention, given the relevant well-established case-law of the Court (see appended table). These complaints are not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention, nor are they inadmissible on any other ground. Accordingly, they must be declared admissible. Having examined all the material before it, the Court concludes that they also disclose violations of the Convention in the light of its findings in the cases listed in the appended table.
13. In applications nos. 30464/23, 30598/23, 35869/23 and 35872/23 the applicants also raised other complaints under various Articles of the Convention.
14. The Court has examined these complaints 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 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.
15. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Sukachov, cited above, §§ 165 and 167), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,
(a) that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, within three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;
(b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
Done in English, and notified in writing on 16 January 2025, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Diana Sârcu
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention
(inadequate conditions of detention and lack of any effective remedy in domestic law)
Application no. Date of introduction | Applicant’s name Year of birth | Representative’s name and location | Facility Start and end date Duration | Sq. m per inmate | Specific grievances | Other complaints under well-established case-law | Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage per applicant (in euros)[1] | Amount awarded for costs and expenses per application (in euros)[2] | |
30464/23 13/07/2023 | Viktoriya Mykhaylivna STARZHYNSKA 1992 | Vavrenyuk Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Pyatykhatky | Cherkasy Pre-Trial Detention Facility 29/01/2021 pending More than 3 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 7 day(s) | 2.6 – 5.1 m² | overcrowding, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light | Art. 5 (3) - lack of relevant and sufficient reasons for pre-trial detention - 29/01/2021 - 15/05/2023, fragility of the reasons employed by the courts, fragility and repetitiveness of the reasoning employed by the courts as the case progressed (see Kharchenko v. Ukraine, no. 40107/02, §§ 77-81, 10 February 2011, Ignatov v. Ukraine, 40583/15, §§ 38-42, 15 December 2016)
Art. 5 (5) - lack of, or inadequate compensation, for the violation of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention – no effective right to compensation in domestic legal system for the violations of Art 5 § 3 (see Tymoshenko v. Ukraine, no. 49872/11, §§ 286-87, 30 April 2013, and Kotiy v. Ukraine, no. 28718/09, § 55, 5 March 2015) | 9,800 | 250 | |
30598/23 13/07/2023 | Ivan Mykhaylovych YEMELYANOV 1989 | Vavrenyuk Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Pyatykhatky | Cherkasy Pre-Trial Detention Facility 29/01/2021 pending More than 3 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 7 day(s) | 2.5 – 4.7 m² | overcrowding, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light | Art. 5 (3) - lack of relevant and sufficient reasons for pre-trial detention - 29/01/2021 - 15/05/2023, fragility of the reasons employed by the courts, fragility and repetitiveness of the reasoning employed by the courts as the case progressed (see Kharchenko v. Ukraine, no. 40107/02, §§ 77-81, 10 February 2011, Ignatov v. Ukraine, 40583/15, §§ 38-42, 15 December 2016)
Art. 5 (5) - lack of, or inadequate compensation, for the violation of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention - no effective right to compensation in domestic legal system for the violations of Art 5 § 3 (see Tymoshenko v. Ukraine, no. 49872/11, §§ 286-87, 30 April 2013, and Kotiy v. Ukraine, no. 28718/09, § 55, 5 March 2015) | 9,800 | 250 | |
31676/23 02/08/2023 | Mykola Sergiyovych KOVALENKO 1996 | Pustyntsev Andriy Vitaliyovych Dnipro | Cherkasy Pre-Trial Detention Facility 11/01/2022 pending More than 2 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 25 day(s) | 3.35 m² | overcrowding, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient natural light |
| 6,400 | - | |
31683/23 02/08/2023 | Yuliya Mykolayivna SYVASH 1981 | Pustyntsev Andriy Vitaliyovych Dnipro | Cherkasy Pre-Trial Detention Facility 06/04/2022 pending More than 2 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 30 day(s) | 2.5 m² | overcrowding, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient natural light |
| 5,900 | - | |
35869/23 15/09/2023 | Ruslan Grygorovych SOTNIKOV 1977 | Rybiy Sergiy Mykolayovych Dnipro | Vinnytsya Detention Facility no. 1 21/06/2023 pending More than 1 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 15 day(s) | 3.4 m² | overcrowding, inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of requisite medical assistance, lack of toiletries, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, poor quality of food, passive smoking |
| 3,800 | - | |
35872/23 15/09/2023 | Valeriy Mykolayovych NUYKIN 1979 | Rybiy Sergiy Mykolayovych Dnipro | Vinnytsya Detention Facility no. 1 21/06/2023 pending More than 1 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 15 day(s) | 3.4 m² | overcrowding, inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of requisite medical assistance, lack of toiletries, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to warm water, passive smoking, poor quality of food |
| 3,800 |
| |
36284/23 10/09/2023 | Nataliya Grygorivna YUSHCHENKO 1983 | Pustyntsev Andriy Vitaliyovych Dnipro | Chernihiv Pre-Trial Detention Facility 01/07/2021 to 17/11/2023 2 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 17 day(s) | 2.84 m² | overcrowding, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to shower |
| 5,600 | - | |
943/24 15/12/2023 | Kostyantyn Yuriyovych TSALYUTA 1982 | Kushnir Valeriy Volodymyrovych Dnipro | Chernivtsi Pre-Trial Detention Facility 14/12/2022 to 17/08/2023 8 month(s) and 4 day(s) | 2.5 m² | overcrowding, no or restricted access to shower, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of fresh air, poor quality of potable water, lack of toiletries, passive smoking, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen |
| 2,400 | - | |
944/24 15/12/2023 | Mykhaylo Mykolayovych KATARANCHUK 1977 | Kushnir Valeriy Volodymyrovych Dnipro | Chernivtsi Pre-Trial Detention Facility 10/02/2020 to 17/08/2023 3 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 8 day(s) | 2.5 m² | overcrowding, no or restricted access to shower, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of fresh air, poor quality of potable water, lack of toiletries, passive smoking, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen |
| 7,500 | - |
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
[2] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.