REPORT No. 51/14 PETITION 1398-05 ADMISSIBILITY DANIEL URRUTIA LABREAUX CHILE1 July 21, 2014 I. SUMMARY 1. On December 5, 2005, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter-American Commission” or “the Commission”) received a complaint filed by the Center for Justice and International Law, through its representative Mrs. Liliana Tojo and Mr. Pedro E. Díaz R., on behalf of Mr. Daniel Urrutia Laubreaux (hereinafter “Daniel Urrutia” or “the alleged victim”), against the Republic of Chile (hereinafter the “Chilean State” or the “State”). In a communication dated August 13, 2012 the Center for Justice and International Law communicated its decision to withdraw as a petitioner in this case. Subsequently, on September 18, 2013, the alleged victim appointed as his representative Mr. Fabián Sánchez Matus (hereinafter “the petitioner”). The petition claims that the right to a fair trial has been violated and the right to freedom of expression has been affected by the imposition of a disciplinary sanction against Daniel Urrutia, Supervisory Judge in the city of Coquimbo, because he sent the Supreme Court of Justice an academic paper he had written in which he criticized that court’s performance. 2. In this regard, the petitioner maintains that the State of Chile is responsible for violating the rights enshrined in Articles 8 (right to a fair trial), 13 (freedom of expression), and 25 (right to judicial protection) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” or “the American Convention”) in connection with Articles 1.1 (obligation to respect rights) and 2 (domestic legal effects) of that same instrument. As of the date of the decision in this report, the IACHR has not received observations from the State regarding the petition submitted on behalf of Mr. Daniel Urrutia. 3. Without prejudging the merits of the case, after analyzing the parties’ positions, and in compliance with the prior requirements under Articles 46 and 47 of the American Convention, the Commission decides to declare the petition admissible for purposes of examining the alleged violation of the rights of Daniel Urrutia as enshrined in Articles 8, 9, 13, and 25, consistent with Articles 1.1 and 2 of the Convention. The Commission also decides to inform the parties of this decision, to publish it, and to include it in its Annual Report to the General Assembly of the OAS. II. PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COMMISSION 4. The Commission received the petition on December 5, 2005 and assigned it number 1389-05. On August 25, 2006, it received additional information submitted by the petitioner. On May 11, 2007, the Commission forwarded the pertinent parts of the petition to the State, asking that it submit its response within a period of two months. It repeated that request on February 11, 2009, September 13, 2011, and finally on October 25, 2013. However, as of the time of the decision in this report, the State has not responded to the request for its observations. III. POSITION OF THE PARTIES A. Position of the petitioner 5. The petition was submitted because the government’s Judicial Branch, through the Supreme Court of Justice, had imposed a disciplinary sanction on Daniel Urrutia, in his capacity as a Supervisory Judge in the city of Coquimbo, for sending the Supreme Court of Justice an academic paper he wrote in which he criticized the performance of the Judicial Branch. 1 Commissioner Felipe González, a Chilean national, did not participate in the deliberations nor in the decision regarding this petition, in accordance with the provisions of Article 17.2 a) of the Commission’s Rules of Procedure. 1