ANGHELACHE AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA

Reclamanții au plâns că presupusa incoerență în practica judiciară internă în ceea ce privește alocațiile salariale care vizează compensarea „condițiilor de muncă periculoase” au condus la discriminarea lor față de alți reclamanți, ale căror afirmații au fost toate permise de instanțe. Acestea se bazează pe art. 14 luat coroborat cu art. 6 § 1 din Convenție și pe art. 1 din Protocolul nr. 12 la Convenție. 22. Având în vedere concluziile sale din punctele 16-20 de mai sus, Curtea consideră că această plângere este evident nefondată (a se vedea Pérez Arias c. Spania , nr. 32978/03 , § 28, 28 iunie 2007, și Petrescu și alții citați mai sus §§ 74) și ar trebui respins în conformitate cu art. 35 §§ 3 și 4 din Convenție. Din aceste motive, Curtea hotărăște, în unanimitate, să elimine cererea din lista cazurilor referitoare la dna Liviana-Rodica Țane și dl Laurențiu-Vasile Stolnicu; declara restul cererii inadmisibil. Depusă în limba engleză și notificată în scris la 14 decembrie 2023. Președintele adjunct al Registrului interimar Apendice Lista reclamanților: nr. Numele reclamantului Anul nașterii Naționalitate Locul de reședință Eugen ANGHELACHE 1972 Romanian Băicoi Liviana-Rodica ȚANE 1967 (mort în 2021) României Ploiești Adrian-George BOTOACĂ 1985 Romanian Comarnic Sorela BUȘĂ 1969 Romanian Ploiești Gabriel CAZAN 1976 Romanian Drajna de Jos Camelia CHRIȚESCU 1977 Romanian Ploiești Mircea-Horia CHIRIȚESCU 1974 Română Ploiești Marian CUI 1966 Română Ploiești Mariana-Ramona COLȚ 1976 Română Șipotu

Ion-Cristian COLȚ 1975 Română Șipotu

Nina-Mirela CONSTANTIN 1976 Română Băicoi

Luella DĂNILĂ 1980 Română Ploiești

Elisa-Florentina DASCĂLU 1974 Română Ploiești

Vasilica DELUI 1980 Română Ploiești

Octaviană DINU 1978 Română Strejnicu

Adrian DIȚU 1960 Romanian Ploiești

Anca-Nicoleta DIȚU 1964 Romanian Ploiești

Dan DRUGEA 1967 Romanian Bucov

Emanuel DUMA 1986 Romanian Ploiești

Paul-Laurențiu DUMITRESCU 1967 Romanian Ploiești

Violel DUMITRESCU 1964 Romanian Ploiești

Dumitru ENACHE 1955 Romanian Ploiești

Cătălina-Victoria GHIUȚĂ 1968 Romanian Ploiești

Maria-Cătălina IACOB 1974 Romanian Ploiești

Elena ILIE 1983 România Ploiești

Gabriel-Dorin IORDACHE 1973 România Ploiești

Luminița-Maria MURARIU 1961 România Ploiești

Gina-Camelia NICOLESCU 1968 România Ploiești

Niculina OLARU 1963 România Ploiești

Constanța PĂUNOUI 1971 România Ploiești

Geana PENEȘ 1960 România Cosmina de Sus

Răzvan PETICILĂ 1967 Romaniană Comarnic

Adriana PETRE 1965 România Ploieștiti

Bogdan PETRE 1974 Romanian Florești

Nicolae-Sebastian PETRE 1975 Romanian Băicoi

Georgeta-Alina PÎRNAN (OANCEA) 1978 Romanian Ploiești

Mihaela POPA 1969 Romanian Câmpina

Mariana PREDA 1968 Romanian Ploiești

Iolanda-Silvana RADU (CRĂCIUN) 1970 Romanian Ploiești

Luminița-Florentina RĂDULESCU 1974 Romanian Cornu de Jos

Lucian-Daniel RUSNAC 1962 Romanian Cioranii de Jos

Cristina-Petruța SORESCU 1969 România Vălenii de Munte

Aurelia-Roxana STOICA 1973 România Bătești

Laurențiu-Vasile STOLNICU 1972 România Ploiești

Viorel-Cătălin SURLARU 1976 România Ploiești

Andreica TĂNASE 1964 România Ploiești

Vasile TĂNASE 1957 România Ploiești

Elena TELEANU 1968 România Ploiești

Gheorghe-Marian TOADER 1978 Romanian Cornu

Adrian-Claudiu UDROIU 1977 Română Ploiești

Lorena UDROIU 1975 Română Ploiești

Alina-Georgeta VĂCĂREL 1977 Română Ploiești

Lucian-Marian VĂCĂREL 1975 Română Ploiești

Liliana-Gabriela VOINOUI 1967 Română Ploiești

Argentina-Veronica ZAHARIA 1973 Română Băicoi

Iudita ZAMFIRESCU-MIHAI 1965 Română Ploieștiti 1965

The VHFSD subsequently awarded some of its employees the allowances corresponding to dangerous working conditions; however, the applicants were excluded. 4 . In a judgment dated 31 October 2018, the Prahova County Court allowed a claim by the local trade union of veterinary workers ( Sindicatul Liber al Veterinarilor – Prahova ), acting on behalf of the applicants, and ordered the VHFSD to pay the applicants the salary allowances retroactively with effect from January 2018. 5 . On 13 March 2019 the Ploiești Court of Appeal reversed the lower court’s decision and dismissed the claim. It found that the claim had essentially been a request for the annulment of individual decisions establishing salaries, whereas such claims were supposed to be lodged only after a preliminary administrative procedure with the employer had been undertaken, as provided in Article 37 of Law no. 153/2017. As the applicants had not exhausted that preliminary procedure, their claims were inadmissible. The court further agreed with the submissions of the employer that pursuant to the relevant law, namely Articles 38 §§ 3(a) and 6 of Law no. 153/2017, such allowances were to be awarded with effect from 2018 in exceptional cases limited to employees whose salaries, following their increase at the end of 2017, had reached a specific level as set out in the Law. 6 . The national Ombudsman lodged an appeal in the interests of the law seeking clarification of the matter in so far as there appeared to be a divergence in the interpretation of the relevant legal provisions by the domestic courts. In the Ombudsman’s view, the difference in treatment between employees who had been working in similarly difficult conditions was unjustified. The existence of such discrimination had been confirmed by the National Council for Combating Discrimination in its decision of 6 November 2019. 7 . In its judgment no. 27/2020 of 26 October 2020, given following the appeal in the interests of the law, the High Court of Cassation and Justice (“The High Court”) established that the allowances were to be granted as prescribed by Law no. 153/2017, namely in connection with progressive levels of salaries. The High Court confirmed that the provisions were discriminatory but considered that in so far as that discrimination had been created by the law, the courts were not in a position to remedy it by issuing individual decisions in contradiction of that law. Furthermore, the High Court noted that a draft law, aimed at granting the allowances to all employees working in difficult conditions, was pending in the legislative procedure before Parliament.

The draft law mentioned by the High Court in its decision was subsequently passed as Law no. 229 of 4 November 2020, the allowances being granted from the entry into force of the amended law, namely 1 December 2020.

The applicants complained, under Article 6 § 1 and Article 14 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 to the Convention, of a conflicting judicial practice of the domestic appellate courts, and that their claims for salary allowances arising from their working in “dangerous working conditions” had been dismissed while colleagues working in similar conditions had been successful in their claims.

The Court notes that Ms Liviana-Rodica Țane (the second applicant in the appended table) died on 12 January 2021 and that no heirs have expressed the wish to continue her application.

It further observes that by a letter dated of 23 November 2022 sent by registered post, Mr Laurențiu-Vasile Stolnicu (the forty-fourth applicant in the appended table), who has retired from the trade union and has not appointed another legal representative, was notified that the period allowed for submission of his observations would expire on 4 January 2023. He did not reply to that letter and no extension of time was requested.

In the light of the foregoing, and in the absence of any special circumstances regarding respect for the rights guaranteed by the Convention and the Protocols thereto, the Court, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention, considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application in respect of the second and forty-fourth applicants. Accordingly, the application should be struck out of the list in respect of Ms Liviana ‑ Rodica Țane and Mr Laurențiu-Vasile Stolnicu. Complaint under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention

The general principles applicable to cases concerning conflicting decisions in domestic judicial practice have been referred to by the Court in Lupeni Greek Catholic Parish and Others v. Romania ([GC], no. 76943/11, § 116, 29 November 2016) and, more recently in Petrescu and Others v. Romania ((dec.), nos. 31390/18 and 9 others, § 55, 7 March 2023). 14 . In particular, the Court has held that the possibility of conflicting court decisions is an inherent trait of any judicial system which is based on a network of trial and appeal courts with authority over the area of their territorial jurisdiction. Such divergences may also arise within the same court. That, in itself, cannot be considered contrary to the Convention (see Nejdet Șahin and Perihan Șahin v. Turkey [GC], no. 13279/05, § 51, 20 October 2011). In order to ascertain whether there has been a violation of the right to a fair hearing, enshrined in Article 6 § 1 of the Convention in cases where contradictory decisions have been given by different domestic courts ruling at final instance, the Court will be guided by the following criteria, consisting in establishing, firstly, whether “profound and long-standing differences” exist in the case-law of the domestic courts; secondly, whether the domestic law provides for a mechanism for overcoming those inconsistencies; and, thirdly, whether that mechanism has been applied and, if appropriate, to what effect (see Lupeni Greek Catholic Parish and Others , cited above, § 116).

Turning to the circumstances of the present case, the Court notes that the parties did not dispute the fact that there were inconsistencies in the adjudication of civil claims brought by numerous persons in identical situations. It appears that in view of the nature of the claims, the appellate courts were the courts of last resort in the matter. 16 . The Court further notes that the mechanism provided by the domestic law for overcoming inconsistencies in domestic judicial practice has been used effectively by the national Ombudsman, who brought an appeal in the interests of the law (see paragraph 6 above). Following that appeal, in its judgment no. 27/2020 of 26 October 2020, the High Court established that the allowances were to be granted in accordance with Law no. 153/2017, that is, in connection with progressive levels of salaries (see paragraph 7 above). In accordance with the domestic law, the High Court’s interpretation of the legal provisions in question is binding on all the domestic courts only once the High Court’s extensive decision has been published in the Official Gazette. A decision delivered on an appeal in the interests of the law cannot alter the outcome of cases already decided.

In such circumstances, the Court considers that it is not necessary to establish whether, before the High Court’s interpretation of the legal provisions in question, the above-mentioned conflicting case-law of the domestic courts was profound and long standing within the meaning of the Court’s case law. What is important is that the national mechanism for overcoming these inconsistencies was used within a relatively short time (approximately three years, from January 2018, when the legislation on which the applicants based their claims entered into force – see paragraphs 2 and 4 above – until late 2020, when the High Court’s decision establishing that the allowances were to be granted in the manner prescribed by Law no. 153/2017 was adopted – see paragraph 7 above) with the result that the divergence was accommodated (see Petrescu and Others , cited above, § 60).

The Court reiterates in this context that although the judgments dismissing the applicants’ claims were given before the High Court had had the opportunity to give a uniform interpretation of the legal texts in issue, making the applicants’ situation appear perhaps more regrettable, achieving consistency in the interpretation of the law may take time, and periods of conflicting case-law may therefore be tolerated without undermining legal certainty (ibid., § 61). 19 . Furthermore, the Court notes that the applicants had the benefit of adversarial proceedings, in which they were able to adduce evidence, and that their arguments were properly examined by the courts. The courts’ conclusions and their interpretation of the relevant law cannot be regarded as manifestly arbitrary or unreasonable. 20 . It follows that the present complaint is inadmissible under Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention as manifestly ill-founded and must be rejected pursuant to Article 35 § 4. Complaint concerning discrimination

The applicants complained that the alleged inconsistency in the domestic judicial practice on the matter of the salary allowances aimed at compensating for “dangerous working conditions” had led to their being discriminated against compared with other claimants, whose claims had all been allowed by the courts. They relied on Article 14 taken in conjunction with Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, and Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 to the Convention.

In view of its findings in paragraphs 16-20 above, the Court considers that this complaint is manifestly ill-founded (see Pérez Arias v. Spain , no. 32978/03, § 28, 28 June 2007, and Petrescu and Others , cited above, § 74) and should be dismissed pursuant to Article 35 §§ 3 and 4 of the Convention. For these reasons, the Court, unanimously, Decides to strike the application out of the list of cases in respect of Ms Liviana-Rodica Țane and Mr Laurențiu-Vasile Stolnicu; Declares the remainder of the application inadmissible. Done in English and notified in writing on 14 December 2023. Crina Kaufman Tim Eicke Acting Deputy Registrar President Appendix List of applicants: No. Applicant’s Name Year of birth Nationality Place of residence 1. Eugen ANGHELACHE 1972 Romanian Băicoi 2. Liviana-Rodica ȚANE 1967 (died in 2021) Romanian Ploiești 3. Adrian-George BOTOACĂ 1985 Romanian Comarnic 4. Sorela BUȘĂ 1969 Romanian Ploiești 5. Gabriel CAZAN 1976 Romanian Drajna de Jos 6. Camelia CHIRIȚESCU 1977 Romanian Ploiești 7. Mircea-Horia CHIRIȚESCU 1974 Romanian Ploiești 8. Marian CIU 1966 Romanian Ploiești 9. Mariana-Ramona COLȚ 1976 Romanian Șipotu 10. Ion-Cristian COLȚ 1975 Romanian Șipotu 11. Nina-Mirela CONSTANTIN 1976 Romanian Băicoi 12. Luella DĂNILĂ 1980 Romanian Ploiești 13. Elisa-Florentina DASCĂLU 1974 Romanian Ploiești 14. Vasilica DELIU 1980 Romanian Ploiești 15. Octavian DINU 1978 Romanian Strejnicu 16. Adrian DIȚU 1960 Romanian Ploiești 17. Anca-Nicoleta DIȚU 1964 Romanian Ploiești 18. Dan DRUGEA 1967 Romanian Bucov 19. Emanuel DUMA 1986 Romanian Ploiești 20. Paul-Laurențiu DUMITRESCU 1967 Romanian Ploiești 21. Viorel DUMITRESCU 1964 Romanian Ploiești 22. Dumitru ENACHE 1955 Romanian Ploiești

Cătălina-Victoria GHIUȚĂ 1968 Romanian Ploiești

Maria-Cătălina IACOB 1974 Romanian Ploiești

Elena ILIE 1983 Romanian Ploiești

Gabriel-Dorin IORDACHE 1973 Romanian Ploiești

Luminița-Maria MURARIU 1961 Romanian Ploiești

Gina-Camelia NICOLESCU 1968 Romanian Ploiești

Niculina OLARU 1963 Romanian Ploiești

Constanța PĂUNOIU 1971 Romanian Ploiești

Geana PENEȘ 1960 Romanian Cosmina de Sus

Răzvan PETICILĂ 1967 Romanian Comarnic

Adriana PETRE 1965 Romanian Ploiești

Bogdan PETRE 1974 Romanian Florești

Nicolae-Sebastian PETRE 1975 Romanian Băicoi

Georgeta-Alina PÎRVAN (OANCEA) 1978 Romanian Ploiești

Mihaela POPA 1969 Romanian Câmpina

Mariana PREDA 1968 Romanian Ploiești

Iolanda-Silvana RADU (CRĂCIUN) 1970 Romanian Ploiești

Luminița-Florentina RĂDULESCU 1974 Romanian Cornu de Jos

Lucian-Daniel RUSNAC 1962 Romanian Cioranii de Jos

Cristina-Petruța SORESCU 1969 Romanian Vălenii de Munte

Aurelia-Roxana STOICA 1973 Romanian Bătești

Laurențiu-Vasile STOLNICU 1972 Romanian Ploiești

Viorel-Cătălin SURLARU 1976 Romanian Ploiești

Andreica TĂNASE 1964 Romanian Ploiești

Vasile TĂNASE 1957 Romanian Ploiești

Elena TELEANU 1968 Romanian Ploiești

Gheorghe-Marian TOADER 1978 Romanian Cornu

Adrian-Claudiu UDROIU 1977 Romanian Ploiești

Loredana UDROIU 1975 Romanian Ploiești

Alina-Georgeta VĂCĂREL 1977 Romanian Ploiești

Lucian-Marian VĂCĂREL 1975 Romanian Ploiești

Liliana-Gabriela VOINOIU 1967 Romanian Ploiești

Argentina-Veronica ZAHARIA 1973 Romanian Băicoi

Iudita ZAMFIRESCU-MIHAI 1965 Romanian Ploiești