CASE OF PLACÌ v. ITALY
Violation of Article 3 - Prohibition of torture (Article 3 - Degrading treatment;Inhuman treatment) (Substantive aspect);Violation of Article 6 - Right to a fair trial (Article 6 - Administrative proceedings;Article 6-1 - Fair hearing;Adversarial trial;Equality of arms;Impartial tribunal);Pecuniary damage - claim dismissed;Non-pecuniary damage - award
András Sajó;Egidijus Kūris;Guido Raimondi;Nebojša Vučinić;Paulo Pinto De Albuquerque;Peer Lorenzen
5. The applicant was born in 1975 and lives in Specchia (Lecce). 6. In 1993 the applicant, aged eighteen at the time, was called up to undertake compulsory military service. For the purposes of his conscription he had a combined psychological evaluation and physical examination on 3 December 1993, as a result of which he was found to be fit for military service. The detailed report, which was not disclosed to the applicant (until 21 September 2010 in the course of pension proceedings), considered that the applicant was slow in understanding and executing a task but logical in its exercise, although prone to giving up. In an evaluation covering language and cultural skills, motivation, mental performance and behaviour, he obtained a grade of 4 out of 10 in each area. 7. Upon his conscription, the applicant underwent another medical examination on 14 June 1994, as a result of which he was again found to be fit for military service on the basis that he was not suffering from any illness. He was assigned to Battalion no. 123 in Chieti, where he was subject to intensive physical and mental training, including in the use of firearms. 8. On 9 July 1994 the applicant was transferred to the provincial command unit in Aquila, where he remained until 30 December 1994. During this time, from 1 September to 2 November 1994 he temporarily formed part of its logistical battalion. While in Aquila the applicant was subjected to multiple punishments. According to the documentation presented, he was subjected to eight punishments between July and December, amounting to twenty-four days of confinement, including periods of solitary confinement, for reasons ranging from negligent care of his camp-bed area to failure to report to his supervisor, or informal behaviour towards his superior. During the time he spent with the logistical battalion he was hospitalised at least four times for medical care unrelated to his mental problems (see below). 9. On 30 December 1994 the applicant was transferred to Lecce, where a commander noted that the applicant suffered from nervous tics and twitches, difficulty in socialising and learning, and absent-minded behaviour. The commander ordered the applicant to undergo a specialised medical assessment to test his fitness to perform military service. 10. On 24 January 1995 he was admitted to hospital, where he was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and considered to be in a fragile state of mind. A medical report by the NHS of Tricase of 6 February 1995 considered that in his youth the applicant had suffered from affection-relational problems and learning difficulties. He was physically weak and insecure, had a low aptitude for learning and was prone to isolation, was dysfunctional and incapable of taking up responsibilities. Tests revealed that he was unable to perform assigned tasks, had difficulty orienting himself and impaired cognitive functions (a deficit in logic and memory). He was considered to have a slight intellectual deficit (an IQ of 67) and to be incapable of creating positive relationships with people. This inadequacy caused him to live military life with anxiety and fear of his fellow soldiers, who he considered were aggressive towards him, even if they had only been joking. The report considered that the longer he remained in military service, the more severe his anxiety would become, and his defensive attitude arising from his fears would intensify. 11. The applicant remained on medical leave for recovery purposes until April 1995, when, following a specialised assessment to determine his suitability for military service, on 8 April 1995 the applicant was found to suffer from “dysphoria and borderline personality [disorder]” and was discharged due to unfitness. 12. Following his discharge, the applicant underwent further medical examinations. A report by the NHS of Tricase of 20 October 1995 considered that the applicant no longer had a defensive attitude, nor was he suffering from dysphoria and nervous tics. He was still, however, insecure, prone to isolation, unstable and unwilling to take up responsibilities. Following the tests performed, the report concluded that the stressful situation, namely his military service, having ended, the applicant had slightly improved. However, he still displayed signs of intellectual deficit. 13. At the time a report by the applicant’s doctor (Dr Russo) considered that the applicant had fallen sick because of military service or that there was at least a causal link between the two. In consequence, on 13 January 1996 the applicant asked the Defence Ministry to pay damages under Law no. 416 of 1926 and presidential decree no. 686 of 1957. 14. In the course of the examination of his request for damages, on 30 September 1999 the Medical Commission of the Bari Military Hospital diagnosed the applicant with “obsessive-compulsive disorder” (“OCD”), which it considered was not a result of his military service. It opined that the mental infirmity at issue was a pre-existing condition. It did not appear that during his military service the applicant had been involved in any events or had to carry out any duties which, given their importance, duration and nature, could have seriously influenced the onset or progression of this mental health problem. It further considered the request to have been made out of time. 15. In the meantime the applicant had repeatedly asked the relevant authorities to provide him with a copy of the pertinent documents regarding the period in which he had served in the military to enable him to substantiate his claims. On 24 November 1999 he further asked the Lecce Military District to provide him with the administrative and health documents related to his case together with the minutes of the Medical Commission’s meeting in his respect. This request was repeated four times in the year 2000 and remained unanswered. 16. On 19 June 2000 the second instance Medical Commission of Bari confirmed the findings of the Medical Commission dated 30 September 1999. 17. On 11 July 2000 the Ministry of Defence rejected the applicant’s request for damages, noting that the Medical Commission (second instance) of the Command of the Naples Health Service had, on 19 June 2000, determined that the OCD from which the applicant suffered had not been caused by his military service. 18. According to a medical certificate submitted by the applicant to this Court, issued by the Maglie Local Health Centre (mental health department) on 29 July 1999, the applicant, who had been treated by the department since 1977 for a fragile state of mind, a low IQ, and OCD which had become chronic, had developed behavioural problems to the extent of violent outbursts towards his family following his military service. 19. On 21 July 2000 the applicant instituted proceedings before the Lecce Regional Administrative Tribunal (“TAR”) for the recognition of the causal link between his mental health problems and his compulsory military service, and in the event that the court considered his condition to be preexisting he asked it to ascertain the military’s liability for recruiting him and in consequence to make an award of damages in his favour. 20. On 4 August 2000 the applicant lodged an urgent request with the relevant authorities to access medical documents relating to the fitness-for-service examination prior to conscription, details about his time in the military – training, work, and so on, his disciplinary record, i.e. of the punishments endured, and a record of his hospital stays, an assessment by his commander of his personality and professionalism and all other relevant material held by the Military Administration. On 22 September 2000 he was informed that the unit in Aquila had been disbanded. He was further informed that he had spent twenty-three days in “consegna semplice” (a punishment prohibiting an individual from leaving the base) and one day of “consegna di rigore” (a punishment confining the individual to a specified area on the base) and that any further information had to be requested from the Lecce Recruiting Office. The applicant lodged a request with the Lecce Recruiting Office on 28 September 2000 and on 16 October 2000 the office replied, sending the applicant an excerpt containing his disciplinary record and noting that he had spent twenty-eight, rather than twenty-three, days in “consegna semplice”. No other documentation was sent to the applicant. Following further requests on 19 October 2000, the Lecce Recruiting Office sent the applicant the psycho-physical training file. 21. On 28 December 2002 the TAR appointed Dr S. as a court expert to ascertain the nature of the applicant’s infirmity and submit a report within sixty days. 22. Following an examination of the applicant, Dr S. failed to deliver the requisite report. Thus, on 30 January 2007, the applicant asked the TAR to replace the expert. 23. By a judgment filed in the relevant registry on 20 July 2007 the TAR, considering the applicant’s interlocutory request as an application for renewal (“rinnovo”), rejected the request, noting that for seven years the applicant had failed to solicit any action whatsoever. Considering that no more evidence was necessary, it proceeded to give judgment. It held that the two Medical Commissions had agreed about the source of the applicant’s infirmity and that it had resulted from a pre-existing condition. Indeed the first-instance Medical Commission had referred to a diagnosis of the applicant made in 1997 (when he had been admitted to hospital) which evidenced a fragile and vulnerable mental state. The court went on to note that it transpired that the medical examination of June 1994 to determine the applicant’s fitness for service had not been accurate, since it should already have transpired that the applicant was not entirely fit to take up military service. 24. On 9 July 2008 the applicant appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court (“CS”). He complained, inter alia, that: the outcome of the case had been illogical – even though the TAR had considered that his fitness-for-service examination had not been accurate it had failed to pronounce itself on any liability and to award damages; the TAR had considered the applicant’s interlocutory request for the replacement of the expert as an application for renewal, even though replacement of the expert was clearly due given the delay in performing his functions, leading to the court taking a decision to dismiss the action without the relevant information. 25. By a partial judgment of 19 January 2010, the CS considered that a specialised medical examination was indeed necessary to determine the connection, if any, between the applicant’s infirmity and his military service. It ordered that such an examination be carried out by the Defence Ministry’s Medical Board (Collegio Medico Legale della Difesa – the “Medical Board”), by means of a medical assessment in the presence of the applicant’s general practitioner, and that a report be submitted within thirty days. It appears from the documents that the Medical Board appointed for the applicant’s case was made up of four full members, three from the military and one from the State Police, and an external expert in neurology. 26. In June 2010 the Medical Board’s report was filed. Its findings took into consideration a report produced that year by an expert engaged by the applicant which he had been allowed to submit to the Board (before being submitted to the CS). The Medical Board’s report noted that when the applicant was discharged he had been suffering from dysphoria, anxiety disorder and borderline personality disorder and had been considered to suffer from slight intellectual disability. It confirmed the reports submitted by the Bari Medical Commissions and highlighted the relevance of the preexisting nature of the applicant’s condition, also noting that upon examination by the Bari Military Hospital’s Medical Panel on 30 September 1999 and at the date of the report in 2010 the applicant had been suffering from “chronic OCD, a slight degree of intellectual disability, displayed personality changes and was prone to have marginal traits”. It concluded that at the date of review, according to the information available, the infirmity could not be considered to have been the direct result of or aggravated by ordinary military service. 27. On an unspecified date the report of 6 May 2010 prepared by the applicant’s expert (Dr Russo) was filed with the court. It noted that the applicant, a mentally healthy subject upon undergoing medical assessments prior to being drafted, had never shown any symptoms of mental illness before conscription into the military service and it was only after repeated punishment that such traits had emerged. Therefore, even assuming that he was predisposed to mental health problems, it was evident that it was the treatment he had been subjected to during military service that had caused the emergence of the illness. The implications of military service were generally of great emotional impact and a source of stress, which for a person who was in a fragile state of mental health or predisposed to mental health problems, unlike in the case of a healthy person, could trigger mental illness. The applicant’s being away from his family and his inability to relate to colleagues and superiors, in the absence of the necessary psychological support and in view of the repeated punishments imposed on him, had caused him to develop dysphoria which had later evolved into chronic OCD. Thus, in the applicant’s case there had been a causal link between his mental health problems and his military service, or the latter had at least contributed to the development of his condition. 28. On 12 November 2010 the applicant filed pleadings contesting the findings of the Medical Board and arguing that its report could not be considered objective and impartial given its nature and composition, as it was an organ of the opposing party in the proceedings. He argued that there had been a lack of transparency in the production of the report, which was highlighted by the fact that he had recently become aware of other documents related to the case which had never been disclosed to him by the authorities, the substance of which had been reflected in the report. On 14 December the applicant made further oral pleadings. 29. By a judgment filed in the relevant registry on 4 February 2011 the CS rejected the applicant’s appeal, holding that the applicant’s infirmity was antecedent to his military service and that it had not been detectible during the examination in 1994, as had been established by the Medical Board. As to the failure to disclose documentation, it considered that such documentation did not relate to the period during which the applicant had carried out military service. In any event the crux of the applicant’s complaint had concerned the conclusions of the Medical Board’s report which did not accord with his claim. However, the CS considered that the report was not contradictory or illogical in itself and it had not ignored relevant facts. It followed that given that the CS (in its limited powers of judicial review of administrative acts) (in sede di legittimità) was not allowed to assess the merits of that report, the applicant’s challenge could not be upheld. In respect of the original medical examination to determine the applicant’s fitness for military service, the CS again adopted the findings of the Medical Board, which had considered that it was possible that the applicant’s health problems had not manifested themselves in the absence of particular stimuli.