The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on the case of Nikolayenko v. Ukraine concerning the applicant’s confinement in a metal cage during court hearings in 2019. The Court found that Ukraine violated Article 3 of the Convention (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) by placing the applicant, who was serving a life sentence, in a metal cage during four court hearings at the Desnyanskyi District Court of Chernihiv. The Court’s decision is structured around three main aspects: admissibility of the complaint, assessment of merits, and application of Article 41 regarding just satisfaction. The Court dismissed the Government’s preliminary objection about non-exhaustion of domestic remedies and found the application admissible. The key provisions of the decision are:
- The Court reaffirmed its position that holding a person in a metal cage during trial constitutes an affront to human dignity and breaches Article 3 of the Convention, regardless of any security considerations
- The Court emphasized that using metal cages was a standard procedure in Ukraine that did not include assessment of actual and specific security risks
- Despite the applicant serving a sentence for murder, the Government failed to provide evidence of any specific security risks requiring cage confinement
- The Court awarded the applicant EUR 3,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage
