RIELA v. ITALY - 17378/20 (Article 3 - Prohibition of torture : First Section Committee)

The Government contested the admissibility of the application on the grounds of non-exhaustion of domestic remedies, pointing out that at the time it had been lodged, domestic proceedings were ongoing. Furthermore, they argued that the applicant should have brought an action for damages, under Articles 2043 and 2051 of the Italian Civil Code.

As to the first argument, the Court reiterates that an application cannot be declared inadmissible on the ground of non-exhaustion if the last stage of the domestic remedies is reached before the Court determines the issue of admissibility (see Molla Sali v. Greece [GC], no. 20452/14 , § 90, 19 December 2018). Given that the domestic proceedings ended following the decision of the Court of Cassation on 18 October 2021 (see paragraph 11 above), the Court dismisses the Government's objection.

As regards the remedy provided by Article 2043 of the Italian Civil Code, the Court has already found that it was ineffective, as the Government had failed to prove that it had been used successfully in similar circumstances (see, mutatis mutandis , Sy v. Italy , no. 11791/20 , § 147, 24 January 2022); in the absence of concrete evidence to the contrary, the Court sees no reason to depart from that conclusion. As to Article 2051 of the Italian Civil Code, the Government has not provided any explanation as to why it should have been applicable in the present case.

Therefore, the Court dismisses the Government's objection of non-exhaustion of domestic remedies.

As the complaint is neither manifestly ill-founded nor inadmissible on any other grounds listed in Article 35 of the Convention, it must be declared admissible.