55 Universidad Católica del Ecuador, which have covered the expenses in connection with said steps.125 VIII VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE AMERICAN CONVENTION (RIGHT TO PERSONAL LIBERTY) Pleadings of the Commission 91. The Commission argued that: a) Article 19(17)(g) of Ecuador’s 1978 Constitution, in force when Daniel Tibi was arrested, sets forth the formal circumstances to conduct a detention, that is, by order of a competent authority, except for cases of flagrancy. The Constitution does not establish any other situation in which the order of a competent authority is not necessary. Article 172 of the Criminal Procedures Code of Ecuador, in turn, regulates preventive detention as follows: “before the respective penal action begins, the Competent Judge must order detention of an individual […];” b) it is for the national authorities, especially domestic justice, to interpret and enforce the country’s law. However, according to Article 7(2) of the American Convention, “failure to comply with domestic legislation entails a violation of the Convention, for which reason the Court can and must exercise its jurisdiction to establish whether there has been compliance with domestic legislation;” c) it has not been proven, and the State has not argued, that Mr. Tibi was arrested while flagrantly committing a crime. And there has there been no dispute regarding the fact that the arrest warrant is dated September 28, 1995. The detention took place in violation of procedures previously set forth in the Constitution and in Ecuador’s Criminal Procedures Code, and therefore, failure to comply with Ecuadorian legislation constitutes a breach of Article 7(2) of the Convention; d) arrest of an individual without an order requires legal and factual justification, which has not been submitted by the State. The process of capture and detention in the instant case is not in accordance with due process. Mr. Tibi’s deprivation of liberty was arbitrary, under the terms of Article 7(3) of the American Convention; 125 See power of attorney granted to the attorneys of the Center for Justice and International Law and to the attorneys of the Clínica de Derechos Humanos of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador by Daniel Tibi, Lisianne Tibi, Valerian Edouard Tibi, Sarah Vachon and Jeanne Vachon (file with appendixes to the brief with arguments and motions, appendix 20, leaves 775 and 776); power of attorney granted to the attorneys of the Center for Justice and International Law and to the attorneys of the Clínica de Derechos Humanos of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador by Beatrice Baruet (file with appendixes to the brief with arguments and motions, appendix 20, leaf 777); and copies of the vouchers submitted to demonstrate the expenses incurred by the representatives of the alleged victim and his next of kin (file with appendixes to the brief with final pleadings of the representatives of the alleged victim and his next of kin, single volume, leaves 1921 to 2035).

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