17.
The Commission did not add any observations other that those indicated in
paragraph 5 of this judgment.
Considerations of the Court
18.
In this regard, the Court finds it necessary to refer to paragraph 61 of the judgment
on reparations and costs, which establishes the following:
The Court points out that, in the present case, the expropriation process through which the price
of the property in question is determined is pending within the domestic jurisdiction (supra para.
48). However, the merits of the case were submitted and decided in this international jurisdiction
on May 6, 2008, and both the State and the representatives have insisted that this Court has
sufficient evidence to determine the value of the fair compensation (supra para. 19). In this
regard, the Court recognizes that it corresponds to the States to establish the criteria to
determine the payment of compensation under domestic law for an expropriation, according to
its law and practice, provided that these are reasonable and in keeping with the rights recognized
in the Convention. In the present case, the Court granted the parties six months from notification
of the judgment on merits to reach an agreement, without them achieving this. In addition, the
victim has waited more than 19 years for the determination of a final amount as fair payment for
the expropriation of her property. In this regard, it would be unreasonable to continue waiting for
a final judgment in the domestic jurisdiction when the judgment on merits reveals the State’s
violation of the reasonable time to decide the matter. Therefore, pursuant to the object and
purpose of the American Convention to provide effective protection to the right to private
property, and based on the provisions of paragraph 134 of the judgment on merits, the Court will
determine the amount of the fair compensation in the international proceedings.
19.
In addition, in the second to seventh operative paragraphs of that judgment, the
Court ordered the payments that the State must make to María Salvador Chiriboga, based
on the findings set out in the judgment.
20.
The Court considers that the judgment on reparations and costs clearly reveals that
this case was decided in the international jurisdiction, including the aspect of the fair
compensation. In this regard, the Court recalls its consistent case law to the effect that all
aspects of the obligation to provide reparation established by the international courts are
governed by international law: including its scope, its methods, and the determination of
the beneficiaries, none of which can be changed by the State by invoking domestic legal
provisions.4 In addition, this Court observes that there is no dispute between the parties
with regard to the effects of the said judgment. To the contrary, the parties agree that it is
final. Consequently, this Court finds that it is unnecessary to rule in this regard.
V
SUBSTANTIATION OF THE AMOUNT OF THE COMPENSATION
DETERMINED BY THE COURT
Arguments of the parties
21.
The State considered that “the Court has not been clear when establishing a causal
relationship between its findings to decide the value of the land (paras. 67, 69, 71, 73 and
82 and paras. 76, 79, 80 and 83), and the determination of the fair compensation (para.
4
Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras. Reparations and costs. Judgment of the Court of July 21,
1989. Series C No. 7, para. 30; Case of Chaparro Álvarez v. Ecuador. Interpretation of the judgment on preliminary
objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of the Court of November 26, 2008. Series C No. 189, para.
21, and Case of Chocrón Chocrón v. Venezuela. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of
the Court of July 1, 2011. Series C No. 227, para. 175.
5