RUDYAK v. UKRAINE JUDGMENT – SEPARATE OPINION
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assistance.’1 In Kudla v. Poland the Court summarised the obligations
incumbent upon the State:‘Article 3 compels the State to ensure that a person is detained in
conditions that are compatible with respect for his human dignity, that is
the manner and method of the execution of the measure do not subject
him to distress or hardship of an intensity exceeding an unavoidable level
of suffering inherent in detention and that, given the practical demands of
imprisonment, his health and well being are adequately secured, by
among other things, providing him with the requisite medical assistance.’2
Thus, whilst the applicant in the instant case was not entitled to ‘state of
the art’ medical assistance he was entitled to and ought to have received
requisite medical assistance for the serious eye condition from which he
suffered in order to have his health (and particularly his vision) and well
being secured. Visits by or consultations with a prison doctor are not, in
themselves, sufficient to discharge the State’s obligations under Article 3.
In our view, in dismissing the applicant’s claim in respect of the
inadequacy of the medical care he received, the majority fails to address,
sufficiently and convincingly, the question of the adequacy of the medical
treatment which the applicant actually received whilst detained. The
judgment refers, in very general terms, to the fact that the applicant was
prescribed ‘treatment’ for his condition. However, such a general statement
is made without any attempt to identify the actual treatment prescribed thus
making it impossible to determine whether such treatment, if administered,
was either requisite or adequate. In addition, no inquiries appear to have
been made by the authorities as to whether the eye surgery was, in fact,
scheduled for the applicant or, indeed, whether it could proceed.
The authorities must ensure that there is a comprehensive therapeutic
strategy aimed at curing the detainee’s diseases or preventing their
aggravation rather than merely treating them on a symptomatic basis (see
Hummatov, §§ 109, 114; Popov v. Russia, § 211). Furthermore, they must
also show that the necessary conditions were created for the prescribed
treatment to be actually followed through (See Hummatov, §§ 116; and
Holomiov v. Moldova).
The above considerations from our point of view are sufficient to
conclude that the applicant was not provided with adequate medical
assistance while in detention.
1 McGlinchey and Others v. the United Kingdom, no. 50390/99, § 46, ECHR 2003-V;
Mouisel v. France, no. 67263/01, § 40, ECHR 2002-IX; Aerts v. Belgium, 30 July 1998,
§ 64, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1998-V
2 Kudła v. Poland [GC], no. 30210/96, § 94, ECHR 2000-XI