I
REQUEST FOR INTERPRETATION AND PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COURT
1.
On November 15, 2022, the Inter-American Court (hereinafter also “the Court”)
issued the judgment in this case, of which the parties and the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights (hereinafter also "the Commission") were notified on December 16, 2022.
2.
On January 30, 2023 the victims' representatives 1 submitted a request for
interpretation related to the scope of paragraphs 97 and 98 of the judgment regarding to
the obligation to investigate.
3.
On April 25, 2023, in accordance with Article 68(2) of the Rules of Procedure and
following instructions from the Presidency of the Court, the Office of the Registrar
transmitted the request for interpretation to the Republic of Paraguay (hereinafter “the
State” or “the Paraguayan State”) and to the Inter-American Commission and granted
them a deadline of May 26, 2023, to submit any written observations they deemed
pertinent. On May 24, 2023, the State submitted its observations. For its part, the
Commission did not submit any observations on the request for interpretation.
II
JURISDICTION
4.
Article 67 of the American Convention establishes as follows:
The judgment of the Court shall be final and not subject to appeal. In case of disagreement
as to the meaning or scope of the judgment, the Court shall interpret it at the request of
any of the parties, provided the request is made within ninety days from the date of
notification of the judgment.
5.
In accordance with this article, the Court is competent to interpret its judgments. To
analyze a request for interpretation and resolve it as necessary, the Court must, if possible,
have the same composition as when it handed down the corresponding judgment, in
accordance with Article 68(3) of its Rules of Procedure. At this time, the Court is composed
of the same judges that handed down the judgment of which interpretation is requested. 2
III
ADMISSIBILITY
6.
It falls to the Court to verify that the request presented by the representatives meets
the requirements established in the norms applicable to a request for interpretation of
judgment—that is, Article 67 of the Convention and Article 68 of the Rules of Procedure of
the Court. Additionally, Article 31(3) of the Rules of Procedure establishes that “Judgments
and orders of the Court may not be contested in any way.”
7.
The Court notes that the representatives submitted their request for interpretation
within the 90-day period established in Article 67 of the Convention. Indeed, the judgment
was notified on December 16, 2022, and therefore, the request for interpretation—filed on
January 30, 2023—is admissible as far as the deadline for its submission is concerned.
With regard to the other requirements, the Inter-American Court will perform the
The legal representation of the victims is exercised by Dante Ariel Leguizamón Morra, Hugo Valiente Rojas,
Julia Cabello Alonso and Óscar Ayala Amarilla, attorneys of the Coordinadora de Derechos Humanos del Paraguay
(CODEHUPY).
1
2
This judgment was deliberated and approved during the 160th regular sessions.
2