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adopting the domestic legal measures to give effect to those rights “based on the maxim of the
law pacta sunt servanda,” as also Article 51(2) of that treaty in conjunction with Article 29(b), by
not carrying out the recommendations made by the Commission. The Commission requested the
Court to require the Government to “institute the investigation necessary to identify the
responsible parties and impose punishment [. . .], inform the relatives of the victims of the
latters’ whereabouts [. . .], remedy the acts committed by government agents and pay fair
compensation to the victims’ next of kin [. . .] [and] pay the costs of these proceedings.” The
Commission appointed its member Leo Valladares-Lanza to represent it as its Delegate, and Edith
Márquez-Rodríguez, Executive Secretary, and Manuel Velasco-Clark, the Secretariat’s attorney, to
serve as Assistants. It also named the following persons to act as legal counsel in the instant
case: Gustavo Gallón-Giraldo, María Consuelo del Río, Jorge Gómez-Lizarazo, Juan E. Méndez,
and José Miguel Vivanco.
3.
The application and its attachments were transmitted to the Government by the
Secretariat of the Court on January 15, 1993, after they had been duly examined by the President
of the Court (hereinafter “the President”).
4.
By letter of January 28, 1993, the Government of Colombia notified the appointment of
attorney Jaime Bernal-Cuéllar as its Agent, and attorney Weiner Ariza-Moreno as Alternate Agent.
5.
By Order of February 5, 1993, and at the request of the Government, the President
granted the latter an extension of 45 days to the time limit set in Article 29(1) of the Rules of
Procedure for filing an answer to the application. The answer to the application was delivered on
June 2, 1993. Likewise, on February 16, 1993, an extension of 15 days was granted for the
presentation of preliminary objections.
6.
Pursuant to Article 31 of the Rules of Procedure, the Government filed preliminary
objections on March 2, 1993. The Commission responded to the objections on April 6, 1993.
7.
By Order of June 3, 1993, the President convened a public hearing at the seat of the Court
for Thursday, July 15, 1993, at 15:00 hours, for the presentation of oral arguments on the
preliminary objections interposed by the Government.
8.
On July 12, 1993, Judge Rafael Nieto-Navia was elected President of the Court. Since the
new President is a national of Colombia, by Order of July 13, 1993, he relinquished the Presidency
for the instant case to Judge Sonia Picado-Sotela, the Vice-President.
9.
The public hearing was held at the seat of the Court on the date and at the time set.
There appeared before the Court
for the Government of Colombia:
Jaime Bernal-Cuéllar, Agent
Weiner Ariza-Moreno, Alternate Agent
Francisco Javier Echeverri, Adviser;
for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights:
Leo Valladares-Lanza, Delegate