123
p)
with regard to the procedural activity of the interested parties, only
two of the five families that came before the inter-American system resorted
to regular justice and have become civil parties and filed their complaints
under administrative law. The list does not give the names of the next of kin
of the victims at the time of the facts and there was a census of the displaced
persons, except for the Valencia Sanmiguel family. Furthermore, neither the
domestic nor the international proceedings show that the next of kin of the
victims or their representatives were restricted or obstructed in their access
to justice or in filing the remedies allowed by domestic legislation;
q)
the debate on the competent tribunal is part of due process, for which
reason the issue of clash of spheres of competence addresses the implicit
guarantees of the right to fair trial and must be taken into account when
considering this case. The discussions that it gave rise to and the involvement
of the highest courts in the decision on the matter do not constitute an
unwarranted delay or a useless procedure with regard to the aims of
protection and guarantees in the criminal proceeding. Presumption of
innocence, inherent to due process, was duly considered by the investigators
and judges;
r)
the investigations began ex officio and immediately after the facts took
place;
s)
restorative justice, as it is called, seeks punishment of offenders and
reparations for those offended, and especially to restore and repair the social
fabric. The Court should help the State move along this path, in the instant
case, recognizing that its jurisdictional authorities have complied with
internationally accepted standards of truth regarding what happened in
Mapiripán; that justice has acted and the main persons responsible for these
facts have been convicted and sentenced, and that what is being sought, both
under domestic proceedings and before this important venue, are the fair
reparations to which the victims are entitled. Despite the complexity and
circumstances of the case, including destruction of evidence by the offenders,
there was no delay in judicial action; and
t)
inclusion of the system of amparo remedies or actions to protect
constitutional rights in the legal order should be addressed by the Court in its
jurisprudence, recognizing and placing it in the appropriate place in the
juridical ambit of the countries that are Parties to the Convention, in
accordance with its significant progress and proven efficacy.
Considerations of the Court
193.
Article 8(1) of the American Convention establishes:
Every person has the right to a hearing, with due guarantees and within a reasonable time,
by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal, previously established by law, in the
substantiation of any accusation of a criminal nature made against him or for the
determination of his rights and obligations of a civil, labor, fiscal, or any other nature.
194.
Article 25 of the Convention provides that:
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