issued by the Registrar of the Court
ECHR 032 (2011)
07.06.2011
Two prisoners detained in a psychiatric ward in breach of the
Convention
In today’s Chamber judgment in the case Hadzic and Suljic v. Bosnia and Herzegovina
(application nos. 39446/06 and 33849/08), which is not final1, the European Court of
Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been:
A violation of Article 5 § 1 (right to liberty and security) of the European
Convention on Human Rights.
The case concerned the detention of two convicted prisoners in the psychiatric annex of
Zenica Prison.
Principal facts
The applicants, Fikret Hadzic and Nagib Suljic, are nationals of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
who were born in 1959 and 1956 respectively and who are detained in Zenica Prison
(Bosnia and Herzegovina).
They were both sentenced to imprisonment, in September 2002 and January 2003
respectively, for murders they had commited in 2002. Because of their diminished
responsibility at the time of the killings, the court ordered their internment in hospital
when it handed down the verdicts. As a result, they were detained in the Psychiatric
Annex of Zenica Prison, Mr Hadzic in February 2003 and Mr Suljic in May 2003.
The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina found, in December 2006 in respect
of Mr Hadzic and in April 2010 in respect of Mr Suljic, a breach of Article 5 §§ 1 and 4 of
the Convention, as it did not consider the Psychiatric Annex an appropriate institution for
the detention of mental health patients. Mr Suljic was awarded 2,000 euros
compensation. Mr Hadzic was not awarded any compensation in that judgment and he
brought civil proceedings for damages for having been unlawfully detained in the
Psychiatric Annex. Those proceedings are pending.
In March 2003, Mr Hadzic lodged his first application with the European Court of Human
Rights in which he complained about his detention in the Psychiatric Annex. In October
2005, the examination of the case was discontinued by the Court following a friendly
settlement between the parties according to which the Government undertook to move
Mr Hadzic, together with all the other patients held in that Annex, to an adequate facility
and to pay him a compensation. The money was paid to Mr Hadzic, however, he
remained in the Psychiatric Annex.
1 Under Articles 43 and 44 of the Convention, this Chamber judgment is not final. During the three-month
period following its delivery, any party may request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the
Court. If such a request is made, a panel of five judges considers whether the case deserves further
examination. In that event, the Grand Chamber will hear the case and deliver a final judgment. If the referral
request is refused, the Chamber judgment will become final on that day.
Once a judgment becomes final, it is transmitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for
supervision of its execution. Further information about the execution process can be found here:
