88
done. 124 Here, the Court stands on Article 63(1) of the American Convention, which
holds that
[i]f the Court finds that there has been a violation of a right or freedom protected by this
Convention, the Court shall rule that the injured party be ensured the enjoyment of his
right or freedom that was violated. It shall also rule, if appropriate, that the
consequences of the measure or situation that constituted the breach of such right or
freedom be remedied and that fair compensation be paid to the injured party.
192. Reparation of the wrong caused by the violation of an international obligation
requires, whenever possible, full restitution (restitutio in integrum), which is to
restore the situation as it was prior to the violation.
193. The obligation to repair, which is regulated in all its aspects (scope, nature,
modes and establishment of beneficiaries) by international law, cannot be modified
by the State nor can the latter avoid complying with it by invoking provisions of its
domestic law. 125
194. As the term implies, reparations are measures intended to erase the effects of
the violations committed. In this respect, the reparations established should be in
relation to the violations that have previously been declared.
195. The Court has determined that the November 12, 1999 judgment delivered by
the Criminal Court of the First Judicial Circuit of San José that convicted Mr. Mauricio
Herrera Ulloa of a crime, had the effect of violating his right to freedom of thought
and expression (supra paragraphs 130, 131, 132, 133 and 135). For that reason,
the State must nullify that judgment and all the measures it ordered, including any
involving third parties. The effects of the judgment are as follows: 1) Mr. Mauricio
Herrera Ulloa was declared guilty on four counts of the crime of publishing offenses
constituting defamation; 2) the penalty imposed on Mr. Herrera Ulloa consisted of 40
days’ fine per count, at ¢2,500.00 (two thousand five hundred colones) a day, for a
total of 160 days’ fine. In application of the rule of concurso material (where a
number of related crimes are combined to reduce the penalty that would have been
required had each separate crime carried its own weight), “the fine [wa]s reduced to
be three times the maximum imposed”; in other words, the fine was reduced from
160 to 120 days, for a total of ¢300,000.00 (three hundred thousand colones); 3) in
the civil award, Mr. Mauricio Herrera Ulloa and the newspaper “La Nación,”
represented by Mr. Fernán Vargas Rohrmoser, were held jointly and severally liable
and ordered to pay ¢60,000,000.00 (sixty million colones) for the moral damages
caused by the articles carried in “La Nación” on March 19, 20, and 21, 1995, and
then again on December 13, 1995; 4) Mr. Mauricio Herrera Ulloa was ordered to
publish the “Now, Therefore” portion of the judgment in the newspaper “La Nación”,
in the section called “El País,” in the same print face used for the articles about which
the criminal complaint was filed; 5) “La Nación” was ordered to take down the link at
the La Nación Digital website on the internet, between the surname Przedborski and
the articles about which the criminal complaint was filed; 6) “La Nación” was ordered
to create a link at the La Nación Digital website on the internet between the articles
about which the complaint was filed and the operative part of the judgment; 7) Mr.
Herrera Ulloa and the newspaper “La Nación,” represented by Mr. Fernán Vargas
124
Cf. Case of Maritza Urrutia, supra note 7, para. 141; Case of Myrna Mack-Chang, supra note 7,
para. 234; and Case of Bulacio, supra note 7, para. 70.
125
Cf. Case of Maritza Urrutia, supra note 7, para. 143; Case of Myrna Mack-Chang, supra note 7,
para. 236; and Case of Bulacio, supra note 7, para. 72.
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