5.  The applicant, Mr Michał Ojczyk, is a Polish national who was born in 1977 and is currently in detention in Łódź Remand Centre in Poland.
6.  The parties’ statements relating to the conditions of the applicant’s detention from 17 July 2008 to 8 January 2010 are to a large extent contradictory.
7.  The applicant submitted that he had been detained in Łódź Remand Centre from 17 August 2005 to 26 April 2010.
8.  In their observations, the Government submitted that the applicant had been detained in the remand centre from 17 August 2005 to 17 July 2008 and that from 17 July 2008 to 13 August 2009 he had been detained in Łódź Prison. From 13 August 2009 to 8 January 2010 the applicant had been at liberty on a temporary release, while from 8 January to 26 April 2010 he had again been detained in Łódź Remand Centre.
9.  From 17 August 2005 to 17 July 2008 and from 8 January to 26 April 2010 the applicant was detained in Łódź Remand Centre.
10.  The applicant submitted that for seven months during his detention between 17 August 2005 and 26 April 2010 he had been held in overcrowded cells, where the space per person had been below the Polish statutory minimum of 3 sq. m.
11.  Official statistics published by the Prison Service (Służba Więzienna) show that during the applicant’s detention from 17 August 2005 to 7 August 2007, overcrowding at Łódź Remand Centre ranged from 20.1% to 35.3%. The figure shows the degree by which the number of prisoners exceeds the maximum allowed capacity of a particular detention facility, which, in turn, is calculated on the basis of the standard of 3 sq. m of cell space per prisoner provided for in Polish law. Overall capacity at Łódź Remand Centre was exceeded on average by 26.8% in that period.
12.  From 8 August 2007 to 7 July 2008 the size of the applicant’s cells varied between 4.76 and 11.69 sq. m and the occupancy rate fluctuated between two and six people.
13.  Official statistics published by the Prison Service show that during the applicant’s detention in Łódź Remand Centre from 8 January to 26 April 2010 there was no overcrowding.
14.  The applicant was detained with a person infected with the hepatitis C virus for three weeks in August 2005.
15.  From January to April 2007 the applicant was held in a cell with an HIV-positive person.
16.  He alleged that the cells had been badly ventilated. The applicant made no other submissions as to the conditions of his detention in the subsequent period.
17.  It appears that the applicant had one hot shower per week and one hour of outdoor exercise per day.
(b)  Facts in dispute
(i)  The Government’s submissions
18.  The Government submitted that the applicant had failed to inform the Court that from 17 July 2008 to 13 August 2009 he had been detained in Łódź Prison, not in Łódź Remand Centre, and that from 13 August 2009 to 8 January 2010 he had been at liberty.
(ii)  The applicant’s submissions
19.  The applicant submitted that he had been detained in Łódź Remand Centre from 17 August 2005 to 26 April 2010. He argued that that was confirmed by the Łódź Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny) in the written grounds of its judgment of 17 September 2010 (see paragraph 24 below).
20.  Official statistics published by the Prison Service show that during the applicant’s second period of detention, overcrowding at Łódź Prison had ranged from highs of 18.5% in July 2008 and 19.4% in August 2008 to a low of 2.5% in June and August 2009. The overall capacity of Łódź Prison from 17 July 2008 to 13 August 2009 was exceeded on average by 10.4%.
21.  The Government did not contest the fact that the applicant had been held in overcrowded cells in Łódź Prison.
22.  On 25 May 2008 the applicant brought a civil action for infringement of his personal rights on account of the inadequate living conditions in Łódź Remand Centre (between November 2004 and June 2011). The applicant argued that he had been detained in overcrowded cells with space that was below the minimum statutory standard. He claimed 290,000 Polish zlotys (PLN – 37,500 euros (EUR)) in compensation.
23.  On 28 April 2010 the Łódź Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) dismissed the applicant’s action. The court found that the applicant had been detained in overcrowded cells from 17 August 2005 to 26 April 2010. Nevertheless, the applicant had failed to prove that those conditions of detention had had any adverse effects on his health. The applicant appealed. The State Treasury, represented during the proceedings by a professional lawyer, did not submit any objections neither to the period nor to the indications of the prison facilities in which the applicant had been held.
24.  On 17 September 2010 the Łódź Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny) amended the above judgment, granted the applicant PLN 6,000 (EUR 1,500) in compensation and dismissed the remainder of his appeal. The court held that the award was adequate redress for the period in which the applicant had been detained in permanently overcrowded cells. The court found that the applicant had been held in overcrowded cells for most of the time of his detention. The domestic court exempted the applicant from paying the costs of the proceedings but ordered him to reimburse part of the legal fees paid by the respondent, a sum of PLN 1,000 (EUR 250).
25.  In a letter dated 15 February 2011, the applicant’s legal aid lawyer issued an opinion that there were no legal grounds to lodge a cassation appeal.
26.  The Government submitted that the applicant had been served with the opinion by his legal aid lawyer on 15 February 2011 and again by the Łódź Court of Appeal on 27 September 2012. The Government attached to their observations a postal slip confirming the February date for the posting of the opinion to the applicant at Łódź Remand Centre.
(b)  The applicant’s submissions
27.  The applicant submitted that the legal opinion dated 15 February 2011 had not been served on him as he had been on a temporary release between 8 February 2011 and 22 February 2012. The applicant submitted a certificate to the Court issued by Łódź Remand Centre confirming the above dates.