Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Case of Caballero-Delgado and Santana v. Colombia
Judgment of January 21, 1994
(Preliminary Objections)
In the case of Caballero Delgado and Santana,
the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, composed of the following judges:
Sonia Picado-Sotela, President
Rafael Nieto-Navia, Judge
Héctor Fix-Zamudio, Judge
Alejandro Montiel-Argüello, Judge
Hernán Salgado-Pesantes, Judge
Asdrúbal Aguiar-Aranguren, Judge;
also present:
Manuel E. Ventura-Robles, Secretary, and
Ana María Reina, Deputy Secretary
in application of Article 31(6) of the Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American Court of Human
Rights (hereinafter “the Rules of Procedure”), delivers the following judgment on the preliminary
objections interposed by the Government of the Republic of Colombia (hereinafter “the
Government” or “Colombia”).
I
1.
This case was submitted to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the
Court”) by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Commission”) on
December 24, 1992. It originated in a “request for urgent action” sent to the Commission on April
4, 1989 and in a petition (Nº 10.319) against Colombia received at the Secretariat of the
Commission on April 5, 1989.
2.
In referring the case to the Court, the Commission invoked Articles 50 and 51 of the
American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” or “the American
Convention”) and Article 26 et seq. of the Rules of Procedure. The Commission submitted this
case in order that the Court decide whether the Government in question had violated Articles 4
(Right to Life), 5 (Right to Humane Treatment), 7 (Right to Personal Liberty), 8 (Right to a Fair
Trial), and 25 (Right to Judicial Protection) in connection with Article 1(1) of the Convention, to
the detriment of Isidro Caballero-Delgado and María del Carmen Santana. In addition, the
Commission considered that the Government had also violated Article 2 of the Convention by not