8
applied, the existence of aggravating factors, the identification of masterminds or the
concurrence of offenses, [but rather it is the] State that […] must elucidate [these
matters]. To claim […] that the clarifications made by the Court in its judgment
regarding the military entity to which the attackers belonged […] and their number
was equal to determining criminal responsibilities can only be the result of a wrongful
interpretation, denoting disagreement with the judgment.” It also reveals an
erroneous understanding of the particular nature of criminal responsibility, which
cannot be determined without the full identification of the individuals on whom this
responsibility falls, a matter not addressed in the judgment.” In addition, and given
that the Court “respects the domestic jurisdiction, it is assumed that guarantees of
due process will be respected in the investigation and trial with regard to the facts.
To claim the contrary [would] imply indicating that [the Court] was [potentially]
responsible for human rights violations arising from the execution of the mandate
that the Convention confers on it.” The representatives also affirmed that the Court
had not incurred in any form of prejudgment. This would only have occurred “if the
matter upon which it had ruled […] were the same as that upon which the Mexican
ministerial and jurisdictional instances will have to rule.” The Court deals with State
responsibility, based on the American Convention, and the national jurisdictional
authorities with subjective criminal responsibility, in application of the provisions of
domestic law.
24.
Finally, the representatives asserted that the State had interpreted “the
judgment in bad faith, in order to justify the presentation of its request.” The
judgment clearly established that the acts committed by the military personnel
against the victim were not limited to those verified in the sphere of the search for
justice, but rather encompassed what happened when Mrs. Fernández Ortega was
raped and tortured. This is so evident from the judgment that to reach the State’s
conclusions “could be the result of a process contrary to the principle of pacta sunt
servanda.” The State “used a deliberately wrongful interpretation to argue an alleged
lack of clarity in the judgment that in actual fact was non-existent.” The meaning
and scope of the judgment are clear and a request for interpretation is only
admissible if the aspects of the judgment whose meaning requires clarification are
related to the operative paragraphs of the judgment. In this case, the Court not only
ordered the State to conduct the pertinent investigation into the facts, but also
indicated criteria to be followed in complying with this obligation, obviating the “need
for the respective paragraphs to be clarified by the Court’s interpretation.” Based on
the foregoing, the representatives asked the Court to declare the State’s request
inadmissible.
2. Considerations of the Court
25.
The Court observes that, although the State’s assertions were divided into six
sections, the truth is that Mexico’s allegations do not correspond to “six arguments,”
but rather to a repetition, that can be summarized under the following aspects: (a)
the competence of the Court to determine international responsibility in contrast to
individual responsibility and the determination of the facts made by the Court in this
case, and (b) the alleged violation by the Court of the principle of the presumption of
innocence. The Inter-American Court will refer to these aspects, as well as to the
interpretation of the expression “act committed by military personnel” questioned by
the State.
a)
General considerations