32
107. In the present case, the parents of Ramón Mauricio García Prieto had the
right to participate in obtaining the truth and in the investigation, identification,
prosecution and the possible sanction of those responsible for the homicide of their
son, in compliance with the domestic legislation in force at the time which
established said right.78 Thus, the State had the duty to provide an appropriate
judicial remedy in order to guarantee this obligation to investigate. The Court notes
that Ramón Mauricio García Prieto’s parents, as the injured party,79 lodged a private
accusation in the proceedings under No. 110/98 by way of their representative prior
to the judgment issued by the Third Trial Court on June 7, 2001 (supra para. 90).80
108. Moreover, this Tribunal observes that, in the development of the investigation
under number 110/98, Gloria Giralt de García Prieto and José Mauricio García Prieto
testified before the Third Trial Court in their capacity as victims. In this testimony,
they referred to several events and situations related to the investigation of the
death of their son (supra para. 85).
109. In conformity with the above, this Court must determine if the State incurred
violations of the rights enshrined in Articles 8(1) and 25(1) of the Convention, in
combination with Article 1(1) of the Convention. For this purpose, the Court has
established that “the determination of whether the State has violated its
international obligations due to the acts of its judicial organs may lead the Tribunal
to examine the respective domestic proceedings.”81 For this reason, this Tribunal will
examine the criminal proceedings No. 110/98 and the prosecutor’s file No. 34-00-03,
taking into account some of the allegations of the Commission and the common
intervener (supra paras. 71 to 74).
Investigation into the homicide of Ramón Mauricio García Prieto subsequent to
June 6, 1995 (criminal proceedings under case number 110/98 and
prosecutor’s file number 34-00-03)
110. The Commission and the common intervener indicated that in the criminal
proceedings under file number 110/98 before the Third Criminal Court, several
omissions and incidents of obstruction occurred which impeded the gathering of
relevant information in the investigation of the homicide of Ramón Mauricio García
Prieto. Among these, the Commission and common intervener indicated an incident
related to a judicial inspection of the records detailing the “arrivals and departures”
of the personnel of the San Benito Battalion of the National Police in June of 1994
(supra para. 72 and 74).
78
Cf. Articles 50 and 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code of El Salvador of October 11, 1973.
79
With respect to parties who may bring cases, Salvadoran legislation states that the complainant
or the individual levying the accusations is the injured party in public suits which are brought with a formal
request that the individual be considered a party, and in order to act within the criminal proceedings in
conjunction with the prosecutor. Thus, it has been found necessary to establish a series of mechanisms
that facilitate access to the proceedings for those who ultimately are the ones directly affected by the
events.
80
Cf. private accusation of January 30, 2001, supra note 55.
81
Cf. Case of the “Street Children” (Villagrán Morales et al.), supra note 69, para. 222; Case of
Baldeón García, supra note 69, para. 142; and Case of Ximenes Lopes, supra note 14, para. 174.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents