REPORT Nº 44 /02 1
ADMISSIBILITY
PETITION 12.057
LUIS ALFREDO ALMONACID ARELLANO
CHILE
October 9, 2002
I.
SUMMARY
1. On September 15, 1998, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter the
"Commission" or the "IACHR") received a petition lodged by Mario Márquez Maldonado and Elvira
Del Rosario Gómez (hereinafter "the petitioners"). It is alleged that the Republic of Chile
(hereinafter "the State" or "the Chilean State") is responsible for the violation of the right to have
access to justice by virtue of a court order of 25 March 1998 that closed the inquiry into the
murder of Mr. Almonacid Arellano, based on the 1978 Amnesty Law, Decree 2,191.
2. The petitioners alleged that the State is responsible for the violation of the right to judicial
protection and the right to judicial guarantees, and in so doing also violated its obligation to
respect and ensure the rights recognized in Articles 1(1), 8(1) and 25 of the American Convention
on Human Rights (hereinafter "the American Convention" or "the Convention"). As to the
petition's admissibility, the petitioners assert that access to justice at the domestic level has been
denied and that the petition satisfies the admissibility requirements both in terms of form and
substance. The State, on the other hand, argues that the constitutional governments that
followed the military regime cannot be held accountable for the facts denounced. It asserts that
the 1978 amnesty law, Decree 2,191, is the applicable law in the present case and cannot be
repealed. It further asserts that the constitutional governments have not enacted amnesty laws
and have done nothing to violate the international obligations undertaken by Chile. The State
adds that the existing National Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the victims' reparations
policy 2 are guarantees of the rights embodied in Articles 1(1), 8(1) and 25 of the Convention. It
contends, therefore, that no right recognized in the American Convention has been violated.
3. After analyzing the parties' positions, the Commission concluded that it was competent to hear
the petitioners' case and that said case was admissible under Articles 46 and 47 of the American
Convention.
II.
PROCESSING BEFORE THE COMMISSION
4. On September 15, 1998 the Commission received a petition lodged by Mario Márquez
Maldonado and Elvira Del Rosario Gómez alleging violations of Articles 1(1), 8(1) and 25 of the
Convention.
5. On October 7, 1998, the Commission transmitted the pertinent parts of the complaint to the
Chilean State, setting a period of 90 days for the State to provide information concerning the facts
alleged and the exhaustion of remedies under domestic law.
6. The State's response was received on January 7, 1999 and transmitted to the petitioners on
January 22, 1999. The Commission set a period of 45 days for the petitioners to submit their
observations. The petitioners' observations were received on March 20, 1999 and forwarded to
1 In keeping with Article 17(2)(a) of the Commission's Rules of Procedure, Commission member José Zalaquett, Second
Vice-President and a Chilean national, did not participate in the discussion of this case or in the decision taken thereon.
2 According to the State, the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission proposed a number of measures to publicly
redress and restore the victims' dignity.
Some measures were symbolic gestures, while others were legal and
administrative, in areas such as social security, health services for next of kin, education for children, housing, social
welfare, and others.
1