Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Case of González et al. (“Cotton Field”) v. Mexico
Judgment of November 16, 2009
(Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations, and Costs)
In the case of González et al. (“Cotton Field”),
the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter-American Court”,
“the Court” or “the Tribunal”), composed of the following judges:1
Cecilia Medina Quiroga, President
Diego García-Sayán, Vice President
Manuel E. Ventura Robles, Judge
Margarette May Macaulay, Judge
Rhadys Abreu Blondet, Judge, and
Rosa María Álvarez González, Judge ad hoc;
also present,
Pablo Saavedra Alessandri, Secretary,
Emilia Segares Rodríguez, Deputy Secretary,
pursuant to Articles 62(3) and 63(1) of the American Convention on Human Rights
(hereinafter “the Convention” or “the American Convention”) and Articles 29, 31,
37(6), 56 and 58 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court2 (hereinafter “the Rules of
Procedure”), delivers this judgment.
I
1
On December 15, 2007, the President of the Court at the time, Judge Sergio García Ramírez, a
Mexican national, ceded the Presidency to Judge Cecilia Medina Quiroga and informed the Court that he was
disqualified from hearing this case. Judge García Ramírez explained the reasons for this disqualification,
which the Court accepted. On December 21, 2007, the State was advised of this decision and informed that
it could appoint a judge ad hoc to take part in the hearing of the case. On February 29, 2008, following two
extensions, the State appointed Verónica Martínez Solares as judge ad hoc. On September 18, 2008, the
representatives of the alleged victims objected to this appointment, indicating that Ms. Martínez Solares did
“not fulfill one of the requirements established in Article 52 of the [American Convention] to be a judge of
the Inter-American Court.” On October 30, 2008, the Court issued an order in which it indicated that Ms.
Martínez Solares did “not comply with the requirements to participate as judge ad hoc in the instant case.”
In the order, the Court gave the State a certain time to appoint another judge ad hoc. On December 3,
2008, the State appointed Rosa María Álvarez González to perform this function. Additionally, for reasons of
force majeure, Judge Leonardo A. Franco did not participate in the deliberation and signature of this
Judgment.
2
As established in Article 72(2) of the current Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American Court, the
latest amendment to which entered into force on March 24, 2009, “[c]ases pending resolution shall be
processed according to the provisions of these Rules of Procedure, except for those cases in which a hearing
has already been convened upon the entry into force of these Rules of Procedure; such cases shall be
governed by the provisions of the previous Rules of Procedure.” Accordingly, the Rules of Procedure of the
Court mentioned in this Judgment correspond to the instrument approved by the Court at its XLIX Regular
Period of Sessions held from November 16 to 25, 2000, partially amended by the Court at its XLI Regular
Period of Sessions held from November 20 to December 4, 2003.