41
b)
the emotional suffering of the next of kin for the disappearance and
subsequent discovery of the mutilated body of the victim and, in particular,
the trauma that the parents suffered because of the death of their daughter;
c)
the dispersion of the family, since some members have had to flee
their country, seeking asylum in countries such as the United States and
Canada;
d)
the trauma suffered by the victim’s daughter, who was four years old
at the time of the facts and, today, is a very introverted person; and
e)
the loss of the son with whom the victim was pregnant when she was
killed.
The Commission’s arguments
102. In its briefs of August 31, 1998, and August 2, 1999, the Commission argued
that the Paniagua Morales family should receive an indemnity of US$125,000.00
(one hundred and twenty-five thousand United States dollars), based on the
following factors:
a)
that the clandestine detention, the isolation, the deliberate illtreatment and the intention of inflicting grave physical and mental pain, which
could be inferred from the condition in which the victim’s body was found,
caused her physical and mental suffering; and
b)
the psychological suffering and distress that her next of kin
experienced, owing to the fruitless search for the victim, the abandonment of
her body on a path and its identification, during which they could see the
severe injuries suffered by the victim; also, the anguish due to the impunity,
and the threats and attacks suffered by the next of kin and the consequent
need for some of them to leave the country.
The State’s arguments
103. The State indicated that it considered the sum of US$10,000.00 (ten
thousand United States dollars) to be appropriate for this item; to be delivered to the
“victm’s legal heirs.”
The considerations of the Court
104. The Court considers that jurisprudence can serve as a guide to establish
principles in this matter, although it cannot be invoked as an absolute criterion, since
the particularities of each case must be examined32.
105. Regarding non-pecuniary damage, international courts have indicated on
many occasions that a judgment of condemnation constitutes, per se, a form of
32
Blake case, Reparations, supra note 21, para. 54; Castillo Páez case, Reparations, supra note 2,
para. 83; Neira Alegría et al. case, Reparations, supra note 19, para. 55; and El Amparo case,
Reparations, supra note 19, para. 34.
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