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absolute secrecy and discretion regarding the information or matters pertaining
to the Units where he [has] served, coming to his knowledge either accidentally
or in the course of his duties during [his] service in the Chilean Navy.” Mr.
Palamara-Iribarne requested authorization in writing to publish the book when
the work had already been published. The alleged victim’s behavior regarding
the required authorization to publish his book was not justifiable pursuant to
the explicit duties under the aforesaid oath;
e)
Mr. Palamara-Iribarne, as a Navy officer, was not allowed to disclose
secret or confidential information without prior written authorization from the
relevant authorities. The banning of the publication was the result of the
author’s negligence to request authorization for publication in a timely manner,
as required under applicable law;
f)
During the pendency of the petition before the Commission, the State
exerted its best efforts to reach an amicable settlement of the case based on
the recommendations contained in report No. 20/30. However, “given the
institutional and legal complexity of the settlement, it was impossible to reach
an agreement before the complaint was filed with the Honorable Court;”
g)
it referred to the “main advances achieved over the last years in the
harmonization of domestic law with Article 13” of the Convention. “Contempt
provisions, contrary to Article 13 of the Convention,” were eliminated. On
August 8, 2005, Law No. 20,048 was enacted, which “eliminates contempt of
authority” from the chapter dealing with offensive and inflammatory remarks
against authorities but maintains the sanction applicable to threats and
disruption of the order, insofar as they constitute dangerous conduct that may
compromise public order and security.” Said law “introduces important
changes to the Code of Military Justice,” amends sections 276, 284 and 417
and “provides that non-military subjects may not be held responsible for the
crime of sedition, thus removing civilians from the jurisdiction of military
courts.” This law conforms to Law No. 19,733 on Libertades de Opinión e
Información y Ejercicio del Periodismo (Freedom of Opinion and Information
and the Practice of Journalism), which provides that civilian courts shall have
jurisdiction over crimes committed by civilians in the exercise of freedom of
opinion and information;
h)
there is a bill that is currently going through the legislative process whose
purpose is to limit the powers that the Códigos de Procedimiento Penal (Code
of Criminal Procedures) and the Código Procesal Penal (Code of Criminal
Procedure) conferred upon the judges to order the withdrawal of a publication
from circulation and the seizure of all copies. The bill to regulate seizure of
publications and withdrawal from circulation is pending before the Lower
Chamber of Congress and “the Executive has undertaken to sponsor the bill
and order the bill to proceed under the emergency procedure.” The proposed
amendment to the Código de Procedimiento Penal (Code of Criminal Procedure)
seeks to “establish the right of withdrawal of publications from circulation and
subsequent seizure but only after consultation to the superior court, and allows
a stay of these proceedings by means of a deposit in court of the necessary
funds to secure any potential award of damages resulting from the
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