and iii) when necessary to avoid “irreparable damage to people”. These three conditions
coexist and must be present in every situation where the intervention of the Tribunal is
requested. By the same token, the conditions above mentioned must continue to exist in
order for the Court to maintain the protection so ordered. If one of them is no longer in
force, it falls upon the Tribunal to assess the relevance of continuing with the so-ordered
protection.3
5.
Given that five years have elapsed since the adoption of the provisional measures in
favor of the beneficiary, and in view of the fact that Venezuela has requested, on two
occasions, the rescission of the measures (supra Having Seen clause 2), the Court deems it
appropriate to assess the information presented from the last order issued by the Tribunal,
dated November 2007 (Having Seen 1).
6.
In this respect, it is convenient to recall that based on its competence, the Court
cannot, in a provisional measure, consider the merits of any arguments pertaining to issues
other than those which relate strictly to the extreme gravity and urgency and the necessity
to avoid irreparable damage to persons. It is in this manner that, in deciding whether to
keep the provisional measures in force, the Tribunal must analyze whether the situation of
extreme gravity and urgency that led to their adoption persists, or whether new
circumstances, also extremely grave and urgent, warrant keeping them in force. All other
issues may be brought to the Court’s attention solely through the procedure for contentious
cases.4
7.
To that end, the Tribunal shall first address the measures of protection implemented
by the State and the participation of the beneficiary, the possible acts of harassment
reported, and the investigations conducted into the facts that gave rise to these provisional
measures. It will then proceed to address the arguments related to the rescission of the
present provisional measures and analyze whether in the instant case, the conditions
mentioned above still exist.
a) Information on the measures
participation of the beneficiary
of
protection
implemented
and
the
8.
The State reported that the 49th Plenipotentiary Prosecutor’s Office has been
assigned to guarantee effective compliance with the protective measure ordered to the
benefit of Maria del Rosario Guerrero Gallucci on August 17, 2007, by the 13th First
Instance Control Court of the Criminal Judicial Circuit of the Metropolitan Area of Caracas.
The measures consist of the permanent police patrolling, protection and surveillance by
officials working for the Dirección General de los Servicios de Inteligencia y Prevención
(Intelligence and Prevention Services Bureau) (hereinafter “DISIP”), which would be
provided within the Metropolitan Area of Caracas. According to the State, a series of
agreements have been reached with the beneficiary that include notifying the Tribunal 48
hours in advance of any exit from the Metropolitan Area of Caracas, the beneficiary’s
avoiding of giving statements to the media, and maintaining a cordial and respectful
relationship with the officers assigned to the protection. In addition, it forwarded copies of
the “Registry and Supervision of Custody Service" sheets filled out initially by the officials
3
Cf. Case of Carpio Nicolle. Provisional Measures regarding Guatemala. Order of the Inter-American Court
of Human Rights of July 6, 2009, Considering 14, and Matter of the Unidad de Internación Socioeducativa, supra
footnote 1, Considering 5.
4
Cf. Case of James et al. Provisional Measures regarding Trinidad and Tobago. Order of the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights of June 29, 1998, Considering 6, and Matter of the Unidad de Internación Socioeducativa,
supra footnote 1, Considering 6.
3