247. Furthermore, the Court notes that no clear measures existed for the execution of
the agreements. 270 Nevertheless, it understands that other state institutions were
involved in approval of the budget item and payment of the amount estimated based
on the appraisals (supra paras. 118 and 123).
248. In this regard, the Court considers that in a system based on the principle of the
rule of law, all public authorities, within their terms of reference, must abide by
decisions adopted in out-of-court conciliation mechanisms such as those in the instant
case. Furthermore, they should promote and execute them without undermining the
meaning and scope of the decisions or unduly delaying their execution 271 in order to
grant the Punta Piedra community certainty with regard to the right or dispute and,
consequently, one of the effects of such mechanisms is its enforceability and the need to
comply with it. Similarly, the Court considers that conciliation agreements such as this
one, by which the State itself was bound, should be effective and, therefore, be
adopted by mechanisms that permit their direct execution, without requiring other
administrative or judicial actions to be taken 272 (supra para. 230). Therefore, it is not
valid for the State to allege this requirement based on its own non-compliance, or on
other reasons such as the lack of financial resources, to the detriment of the legal
obligations with the status of res judicata assumed in the 2001 conciliation agreements
and in violation of the principles of good faith and the practical effects (effet utile) of
the said agreements. 273
249. The Court has also indicated that rulings must be the executed without undue
obstruction or delay in order to achieve their purpose in a prompt, simple and
comprehensive manner. 274 This is particularly important in cases involving indigenous
matters because the special situation of vulnerability in which these peoples may find
270
Neither the 2001 undertaking nor the subsequent meetings established clearly the competences,
functions and mechanisms that the Interinstitutional Commission or other authorities would have to execute
the commitments made by the State (supra, para. 114). The 2001 undertaking only established that the
Interinstitutional Commission was authorized to prepare a list of demands and a work schedule to resolve
the conflict.
271
Cf. Mutatis mutandis, Case of Mejía Idrovo, supra, para. 106. Cf. also: in the Case of Inmobiliare
Saffi v. Italy, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) established that: “[i]n conclusion, while it may be
accepted that Contracting States may [...] intervene in proceedings for the enforcement of a judicial
decision, the consequence of such intervention should not be that execution is prevented, invalidated or
unduly delayed or, still less, that the substance of the decision is undermined.” Cf. ECHR, Case of
Inmobiliare Saffi v. Italy, No. 22774/93, Judgment of July 28, 1999, para. 74.
272
In its brief with final arguments before the Court, the State indicated that the prior administrative
proceeding should be used in order for the State to comply with the “agreement” by which it was bound. The
State did not establish what the suitable and effective judicial remedy was that should be used after having
exhausted the administrative procedure. In its final arguments, the State also argued that the
representatives had not used the existing domestic remedies available to any Honduran and merely
indicated in general terms the existence of remedies such as “ownership claims before the civil courts,” “the
application for amparo,” “a declaratory proceeding,” and “other guarantees and remedies that may be used,”
without specifying how they would be adequate and effective in the specific case. These arguments were not
raised at the admissibility stage before the Commission.
273
Cf. Case of the Constitutional Court, Jurisdiction, supra, para. 36, and Case of Rochac Hernandez et
al. v. El Salvador. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of October 14, 2014. Series C No. 285, para. 162.
274
Cf. Case of Mejía Idrovo, supra, para. 105, citing ECHR, Case of Matheus v. France (No. 62740/01),
Judgment of March 31, 2005, para. 58. According to the principles proposed by the Consultative Council of
European Judges (CCJE), a consultative body of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in
matters related to the independence, impartiality and professional capacity of judges, “enforcement of
judicial decisions should be fair, swift, effective and proportionate” (Cf. Opinion No. 13 (2010), On the role of
https://wcd.coe.int/wcd/
judges
in
the
enforcement
of
judicial
decisions.
Available
at:
ViewDoc.jsp?Ref=CCJE(2010)2&Language=lanEnglish&Ver=original&BackColorInternet=DBDCF2&BackColorI
ntranet=FDC864&BackColorLogged=FDC864.
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