3
7.
In accordance with cited Article, the Court is competent to interpret its judgments. In
order to examine the request for interpretation and make corresponding decisions, the
Tribunal should have, if it is possible, the same composition as it had when it issued the
pertinent Judgment, in accordance with Article 59(3) of the Rules of Procedure. On this
occasion, the Court is composed of the judges that issued the Judgment whose
interpretation has been sought by the representatives, with the abovementioned
modification.3
III
ADMISSIBILITY
8.
The Court must verify whether the request for interpretation compiles with the
requirements established in the applicable norms, that is, with Article 67 of the Convention
and Article 59 of the Rules of Procedure, which establishes in pertinent part that:
1.
[T]he request for interpretation referred to in Article 67 of the Convention may be made in
connection with judgments on the merits or on reparations, and shall be filed with the Secretariat. It shall
state with precision the questions relating to the meaning or scope of the judgment of which interpretation
is requested.
[…]
4.
A request for interpretation shall not suspend the effect of the judgment.
5.
The Court shall determine the procedure to be followed and shall render its decision in the form of
a judgment.
9.
Additionally, Article 29(3) of the Rules of Procedure establishes that “[j]udgments
and orders of the Court may not be contested in any way.”
10.
The Court observes that the State presented the request for interpretation within the
time limit established in Article 67 of the Convention, given that it was submitted on
November 3, 2009 and the Judgment was notified to the parties on August 5, 2009.
11.
Additionally, as this Tribunal has held in its constant jurisprudence, a request for
interpretation of a judgment has as its purpose, exclusively, the clarification of the meaning
of a judgment when one of the parties maintains that the text of its operative paragraphs or
its considering clauses lacks clarity or precision, as long as those considering clauses are
relevant to the operative paragraphs.4
12.
The Court shall proceed to analyze the request for interpretation submitted by the
State and, if applicable, clarify the scope of Operative Paragraph Five of the Judgment. For
that purpose, it shall examine the question raised by the State, as well as the observations
of the representative.
IV
SCOPE OF OPERATIVE PARAGRAPH FIVE OF THE JUDGMENT
3
4
Cf. supra note 1.
Cf. Case of Loayza Tamayo v. Peru. Interpretation of the Judgment on Merits. Order of the Court of March
8, 1998. Series C No. 47, para. 16; Case of Valle Jaramillo et al. v. Colombia. Interpretation of the Judgment on
Merits, Reparations, and Costs. Judgment of July 7, 2009. Series C No. 201, para. 8; Case of García Prieto et al. v.
El Salvador. Interpretation of the Judgment on Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations, and Costs. Judgment of
November 24, 2008. Series C No. 188, para. 7.