REPORT Nº 128/01 CASE 12.367 MAURICIO HERRERA ULLOA AND FERNÁN VARGAS ROHRMOSER OF “LA NACIÓN” NEWSPAPER COSTA RICA December 3, 2001 I. SUMMARY 1. On February 28, 2001, Fernando Lincoln Guier Esquivel, Carlos Ayala Corao, Mauricio Herrera Ulloa, and Fernán Vargas Rohrmoser (hereinafter the petitioners”) lodged a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Commission,” “the Inter-American Commission,” or the “IACHR”), in which they alleged that the Republic of Costa Rica (hereinafter “the State,” “Costa Rica,” “the Costa Rican State,” or “the State of Costa Rica”) violated the freedom of expression and the rights protected under Articles 1, 2, 8, 13, 24, 25, and 29 of the American Convention on Human Rights, to the detriment of Mauricio Herrera Ulloa, a journalist, and Fernán Vargas Rohrmoser, as the legal representative of the newspaper, “La Nación” (hereinafter referred to as “the presumed victims”). 2. Mauricio Herrera Ulloa and “La Nación” newspaper, represented by Fernán Vargas Rohrmoser, were convicted by the courts for certain articles published on Féliz Przedborski, a diplomat, who, according to their allegations, had committed various illegal acts abroad. When a Costa Rican court issued the order for execution of the judgment, the petitioners appealed to the Commission to request that the State adopt precautionary measures. Those measures were requested by the Commission, but the State of Costa Rica refused to execute them. The IACHR thereupon requested that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Court” or “the Inter-American Court”) order provisional measures, which were granted on September 7, 2001. 3. The State presented arguments regarding the application of legitimate restrictions to freedom of expression and the lack of legal standing of the parties, inter alia, and requested that the Commission declare itself unqualified to hear this case. 4. After considering the arguments presented by both parties, the Commission decided to admit the case and proceed with an analysis of its merits. II. PROCESSING BY THE COMMISSION 5. The petition and the request for precautionary measures were received by the Commission on March 1, 2001. The Commission opened the case as case Nº 12,367, sent the relevant parts of the petition to the State, and asked it to adopt the following precautionary measures: suspend execution of the judgment until the Commission had examined the case and adopted a decision on its merits; refrain from including the name of the journalist, Mauricio Herrera Ulloa, in the Costa Rican Judicial Register of Criminal Offenders; and, refrain from taking any action that would affect his right to freedom of expression. 6. The request for precautionary measures was forwarded to the State, which was given a period of 15 days to report to the Commission on specific action taken to comply with said request. On March 19, 2001, the Commission received a reply from the State, in which it asked for an extension of the period of time allotted by the IACHR to submit information. The Commission granted an extension of the deadline to April 3, 2001. On March 23, the petitioners sent additional information. 7. On March 29, 2001, the Commission received a letter from the State in which it reported that the Secretariat of the Supreme Court of Justice had decided not to adopt the precautionary measures requested by the Commission, because it lacked jurisdiction to order them. 8. On March 21, 2001, the petitioners asked the Commission to place itself at the disposal of the parties with a view to reaching a friendly settlement. The Commission convened the parties to a meeting on March 30, to determine whether the two sides were willing to seek a friendly 1