61 damage which the Commission and the representatives allege the beneficiaries have suffered as a consequence of the facts set forth in the instant case. Finally, the Court shall order that this Judgment be published as reparation for non-pecuniary damage. B) Adaptation of domestic law to conform to the American Convention and duty of the State to continue investigating this case, identify, prosecute and, as appropriate, punish those responsible 145. As explained in paragraph 119 of this Judgment, the Court finds that, inasmuch as it seeks to grant amnesty to persons responsible for crimes against humanity, Decree Law No. 2.191 is inconsistent with the American Convention and, therefore, has no legal effects; consequently, the State must: i) ensure that it does not continue to hinder the investigation of Mr. Almonacid-Arellano’s extra-legal execution and the identification and, as appropriate, punishment of those responsible, and ii) ensure that Decree Law No. 2.191 does not continue to hinder the investigation, prosecution and, as appropriate, punishment of those responsible for similar violations perpetrated in Chile. * * * 146. The Court has found that the State has violated the rights established in Articles 8 and 25 of the American Convention in relation to Article 1(1) thereof, to the detriment of Elvira del Rosario Gómez-Olivares and Alfredo, Alexis, and José Luis Almonacid-Gómez. This violation occurred for two reasons: i) the granting of jurisdiction to the military courts to hear the case of Mr. Almonacid-Arellano’s death, and ii) the application of Decree Law No. 2.191. The first violation resulted from Order of the Supreme Court of December 5, 1996 (supra para. 82(17)), whilst the second one was a consequence of the judgments of January 28, 1997 of the Second Military Court of Santiago (supra para. 82(20)) and of March 25, 1998 of the CourtMartial (supra para. 82(21)). 147. In view of the foregoing, the Court hereby orders that the State set aside the above mentioned domestic decisions and judgments, and refer the case file to a regular court, so that, by way of criminal proceedings, all those responsible for Mr. Almonacid-Arellano’s death are identified and punished. 148. The Court has previously ruled that the right to know the truth is included in the right of victims or their next of kin to have the harmful acts and the corresponding responsibilities elucidated by competent State bodies, through the investigation and prosecution provided for in Articles 8 and 25 of the Convention.159 149. Once more, the Court wishes to highlight the important role played by the different Chilean Commissions (supra paras. 82(26) to 82(30)) in trying to collectively build the truth of the events which occurred between 1973 and 1990. Likewise, the Court appreciates that the Report of the Comisión Nacional de Verdad y Reconciliación (National Truth and Reconciliation Commission) includes Mr. Almonacid-Arellano’s name and a brief summary of the circumstances of his execution. 159 Cf. Case of Barrios Altos, supra note 140, para. 48. Case of Bámaca-Vélasquez. Judgment of November 25, 2000. Series C No. 70, para. 201.

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents