7
f)
On August 25, 2003, Mr. Javier Mujica Ruiz filed a motion to annul
against such decision, which was declared inadmissible by the First
Transitory Chamber in Criminal Matters of the Superior Court of
Lima18.
13.
That, from the information tendered by the parties, it spring that, once this
Tribunal delivered the Judgment, on April 7, 2003, the victims, by means of their
representative, filed a new criminal complaint against Mr. Luis Contravarria Chekley
and Claudio Sarmiento Molina for the alleged commission of the crimes of “omission,
reluctance and delay in the performance of duties, undue delay in the payment,
abuse of authority, illegal misappropriation and violence and for disobeying the
authority" to their detriment19. In that respect, on April 6, 2004 the Solicitor
General’s Office issued a resolution by means of which it decided not to open the
investigation into the facts reported, based on that the criminal proceeding for the
same facts was still open20. On October 18, 2004 the First Transitory Chamber in
criminal matters of the Supreme Court of Justice declared the inadmissibility of the
complaint appeal filed by Mr. Javier Mujica Ruiz Huidrobo against said decision21.
14.
That, considering the above mentioned, it is clear that the victims of the
instant case have exhausted the instances and remedies available in the conduct of
the criminal investigations initiated by them in this matter, until they reached the
last competent judicial instance (supra Considering clauses 8, 12 and 13). It has not
been proven, however, that the State has adopted, apart from the processing of the
complaints filed by the victims, all the measures necessary to guarantee a thorough
investigation into the facts of the instant case in order to determine, if applicable,
the criminal, administrative or disciplinary responsibilities provided under the
Peruvian legislation. From the decisions made by the State in this matter, it neither
spring that the domestic courts have taken into account the terms established in the
Judgment of this Court, by dismissing the complaints filed. To that purpose, it is
worth recalling that, in the instant case, the Tribunal determined the non-compliance
with the judicial decisions made at the domestic level that referred to the payment of
the pensions and that this constituted a violation of the rights enshrined in articles
21 (Right to Property) and 25 (Right to Judicial Protection) of the American
Convention, to the detriment of the five pensioners.
15.
That, since its first rulings, the Court has indicated that, “The duty to
investigate, like the duty to prevent, is not breached merely because the
investigation does not produce a satisfactory result. Nevertheless, it must be
undertaken in a serious manner and not as a mere formality preordained to be
ineffective. An investigation must have an objective and be assumed by the State as
its own legal duty, not as a step taken by private interests that depends upon the
18
Cf. criminal complaint filed before the First Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court of Lima on
August 25, 2003 (record on monitoring compliance, Volume IV, page 1096).
19
Cf. complaint of April 7, 2003 filed by Javier Mujica Petit before the Solicitor General's Office
(record on monitoring compliance, volume IV; pages 1040 to 1054).
20
Cf. criminal complaint filed before the on-duty Solicitor General on April 6, 2004 (record on
monitoring compliance, Volume IV, page 1055 to 1057).
21
Cf. resolution issued by the First Transitory Chamber in Criminal Matters of the Supreme Court of
Lima of October 18, 2004 (record on monitoring compliance, Volume IV, page 1097).