SITUATION IN PENITENTIARY INSTITUTIONS without delay.35 It is established by the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights that conditions in which an individual is kept may cause violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.36 And, it is one of the major principles of the European Prison Rules that prison conditions that infringe prisoners’ human rights are not justified by lack of resources.37 The infrastructure was completely outdated in the recent past in the Tbilisi Institution No 1, Batumi Institution No. 3 and Zugdidi Institution No. 4. Prisoners had to live in unbearable conditions in these institutions for years. There were problems related to accommodation, lighting, ventilation, heating and hygiene. In 2013, the Tbilisi Institution No. 1 and the Zugdidi Institution No. 4 were shut down – a fact that we want to welcome. Repair works have started in the Batumi Institution No. 3. Despite these changes, a number of penitentiary institutions still require thorough repair. Tbilisi Institution No. 7 The conditions of living in the Penitentiary Institution No. 7 are largely inappropriate. The Public Defender has addressed the Minister of Corrections with a series of recommendations on this matter38 but the problem has not been eradicated this far. The European Court of Human Rights has been consistently stressing the States’ obligation in its judgment to ensure that conditions of detention are compatible with respect for his human dignity and that the suffering and humiliation involved do not in any event go beyond that inevitable element of suffering or humiliation connected with a given form of legitimate treatment or punishment. Health and well-being of those detained must be adequately secured.39 The Court has also mentioned that when assessing conditions of detention, account has to be taken of the cumulative effects of these conditions, as well as of specific allegations made by the applicant.40 There are 25 cells in the Penitentiary Institution No. 7. Twelve of these cells are designed for two prisoners, five for four prisoners and the remaining eight cells are meant for eight prisoners each. In total, the institution has places for 108 prisoners. Cells for two are about 7 square meters each, cells for four are nine square meters and cells for eight are 14.5 square meters. Each prisoner is allocated 3.5 square meters in a cell for two, 2.25 square meters in a cell for four and 1.8 square meters in a cell for eight. Our monitoring revealed that, in cells for eight people, there were 7 prisoners in Cell no. 7, 5 prisoners in Cell no. 2, 4 prisoners in Cell no. 16 and 4 prisoners in Cell no. 23. As regards cells for four, there were 3 prisoners in Cell no. 17. There were 2 prisoners in Cell no. 14 designed for two people. 15 prisoners were accommodated separately in different cells. It should be noted that this calculation does not include the toilet space and the area occupied by beds and chairs. The space on which toilets are located vary from 0.4 (0,63 x 0,69) square meters to 0,5 (0,62X0,78) square meters. Each bed occupies 1.3 square meters. It follows that we should subtract 5,2 (1,3X4) square meters as well as roughly 1 square meter occupied by toilettes and tables amounting to a total of 8.3 square meters from the total area of 35 The European Prison Rules, Rule 18.2. 36 See, inter alia, Ramishvili and Kokhreidze v. Georgia, Judgment of 27 January 2009, par. 79. 37 The European Prison Rules, Rule 4. 38 30/07/2013 No. 03-3/513; 16/12/2013 No. 894/03-5; 19/02/2014 No. 03/458. 39 Valašinas v. Lithuania, Judgment of 24 July 2001, par. 102; Kudła v. Poland, Judgment of 26 October 2000, par. 94. 40 See Dougoz v. Greece, Judgment of 6 March 2001, par. 46 . 41 Under Article 64(2) of the Code of Imprisonment, floor area per each sentenced prisoner must not be less than 2.5 square meters in a closed place of deprivation of liberty. 2013 We did some calculation based on these figures and concluded that, in Cell no. 7 with 7 prisoners, each prisoner has a floor space of about 2 square meters, which is a violation of a standard set forth in the Code of Imprisonment.41 As regards Cell no. 2 with 5 prisoners, Cell no. 16 with 4 prisoners and Cell no. 4 with also 4 prisoners, the floor space occupied by each prisoner varies from 2.9 to 3.6 square meters. NPM Report 13