number of victims that is much lower than those on the lists provided. Notwithstanding this, and
considering that the State itself provided a list of 936 individualized victims, the Court considers
it essential that, in the context of the Single List of Victims that is being drawn up […], the State
proceed to make a conclusive determination of other individuals who should also be considered
victims and, as appropriate, beneficiaries of the reparations ordered by the Court. […]
20.
Now, in the context of the request for interpretation of the Judgment, the
representatives, the State and the Commission have referred to the massive and
indiscriminate nature of the massacres, as well as to the complexity represented by the
borders of the political-administrative division of the territories and have indicated that
some of the localities excluded by the Court in its Judgment “are adjoining, nearby or part
of the seven places of the massacre specified in the Judgment.” The Court finds that the
representatives’ request and the Commission’s arguments seek that the Court consider that
places such as the canton of Tierra Colorada, the village of El Pinalito, the canton of
Guacamaya and the town of Arambala are included within the factual framework of the
case, with a view to the determination of victims, which would involve modifying the
provisions of paragraph 56 of the Judgment, in which it is explained that: “the factual
framework of this case does not include events that occurred in […] the departmental
capital of Arambala, or in the canton of Tierra Colorada, the village of Pinalito, and the
village of Guacamaya.” In short, the Court notes that, under the appearance of a request for
interpretation, basically, it is a disagreement with the Court’s decision that is being
introduced by means of an assessment of factual and legal issues that have already been
raised at the appropriate procedural opportunity and regarding which this Court has already
adopted a decision. This would constitute a modification of what was established in
paragraph 56 of the Judgment. Added to this, it should be noted that, in their request for
interpretation, the representatives did not identify anyone who had been excluded as a
victim by the considerations included in paragraph 56 of the Judgment. The Court reiterates
that the formulation of abstract or hypothetical situations bears no relationship to the
purpose of a request for interpretation of judgment. Consequently, this element of the
request for interpretation is declared inadmissible, because there is no possibility that the
judgment can be modified or expanded, pursuant to Articles 67 of the American Convention
and 31(3) and 68 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure. 12
21.
Notwithstanding the foregoing decision, bearing in mind that one of the requirements
for the admissibility of a request for interpretation is that it must seek the clarity or
precision of the operative paragraphs of the Judgment or of considerations that have an
impact on those operative paragraphs (supra para. 17), the Court finds it pertinent to
proceed to analyze the considerations submitted by the representatives that relate to the
implementation of the “Single List of Victims and Next of Kin of Victims of Grave Human
Rights Violations during the Massacre of El Mozote,” based on the provisions of the
Judgment and given the complexity of determining who should be considered victims under
this mechanism.
22.
In this regard, the representatives indicated, on the one hand, that the territorial
limitations established in paragraph 56 of the Judgment “w[ould be] incompatible with the
indiscriminate nature of the massacres and with the [Court’s] decision to apply the
provisions of Article 35(2) of its Rules of Procedure, as well as with the State’s obligation to
identify all the victims of the events who were not determined by the Court.” On the other
hand, they referred to the determination of victims at the domestic level by means of the
“Single List of Victims and Next of Kin of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations during
the Massacre of El Mozote” and considered it pertinent that the Court issue a clarification
12
34.
Cf. Case of Salvador Chiriboga v. Ecuador, para. 31, and Case of Atala Riffo and Daughters v. Chile. para.
7