36. The legislative measure of recurso de fiscalización is only open to representatives
in the Chilean Cámara de Diputados. Petitioners consider that the fact that one of the
victims was a representative does not make him responsible for seeking the remedy.
Petitioners argue that they all appear before the inter-American system as human
beings, and their other activities do not impose further obligations with respect to
exhaustion of domestic remedies.
37. The administrative measure of recurso de reposición is established in Article 9 of
Chilean Law Nº 18.575, which says: "Administrative acts may be challenged through
the means established by law. A reposición may be filed before the same entity that
carried out the challenged act and when necessary, it may be appealed before the
corresponding higher authority, without prejudice to other procedures that may exist."
("Los actos administrativos serán impugnables mediante los recursos que establezca la
ley. Se podrá siempre interponer el de reposición ante el mismo órgano del que
hubiere emanado el acto respectivo y, cuando proceda, el recurso jerárquico, ante el
superior correspondiente, sin perjuicio de las acciones jurisdiccionales a que haya
lugar") (emphasis added).First, the petitioners argue that in this case, there was no
administrative resolution at all, since the State never refused to respond or justified its
omission. Thus, a remedy that requires an "administrative act" was a juridical
impossibility. The petitioners also note that Chilean courts do not themselves require
the recurso de reposición administrativa as a prerequisite to exercise judicial actions or
to make final decisions in the courts of law. Finally, petitioners explain that this
remedy requires only a request in writing that is presented in respectful terms, and the
letters sent on June 3 and July 2, 1998 were themselves presented in formal and
respectful terms, thus fulfilling the only requirements for the recurso de reposición
administrativa.
B.
Position of the State
1.
Arguments regarding the characterization of a violation
38. The State argues that the Vice-President of the Committee on Foreign Investment
complied with his obligations under Article 13 by providing some of the information
requested by petitioners. The three requests that were not granted should be seen as
confidential, according to the State, because they are related to characteristics of the
Committee itself and its manner of exercising its private functions.The State also
considers that the requests indicate a suspicion of negligence on the part of the
Committee. It argues that any attempt at oversight (fiscalización) of government
functions should be performed by the Cámara de Diputados, which is empowered to
perform a recurso de fiscalización under the Chilean Constitution.
39. In the State's view, the requested information must be considered confidential
because "reservation of information in this type of company constitutes a cornerstone
of constitutional economic guarantees and Chilean foreign investment policy." ("la
debida reserva en este tipo de empresas constituye una de las piezas angulares en
materia de garantías constitucionales económicas y de la política chilena de inversión
extranjera.") The State argues that the release of said information would constitute
arbitrary discrimination against the investors. Finally, the State considers that as a
private organization without express legal faculties, Fundación Terram has no right to
confidential information.