Chile, on accepting the competence of the Inter-American
Commission and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
declares that these organs, in applying Article 21(2) of the
Convention, shall refrain from judgments concerning the concept
of public use or social interest cited in cases involving the
expropriation of an individual's property.
Chile notes that the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties expressly
permits ratification of an international treaty with a reservation that is
consistent with the object and purpose of the treaty. Chile maintains
that its reservation stems from the conviction of democratic
governments that human rights violations that occurred in the recent
past must be resolved at the domestic level. In this context, the Chilean
State has taken a series of initiatives, such as creating the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (the “Comisión Rettig”), Law 19.123 on
reparation for victims of human rights violations, the Dialogue
Roundtable and the recently created Commission on Political Prisoners
and Torture. The State stressed that it was not questioning the utility of
participation by the international community in the handling of such
situations, but that it was convinced that the Chilean people and their
democratically elected bodies were the appropriate ones to attempt to
heal the wounds left by the human rights violations that were committed
during the military régime.
18.
Consequently, Chile asked the Commission to declare this
petition inadmissible, and to do the same with 13 other petitions to
which it was responding at the same time, on the grounds that they
relate to events that occurred before the deposit of the instrument of
ratification and that began prior to March 11, 1990.
IV.
A.
ANALYSIS OF ADMISSIBILITY
General considerations
19.
Before examining the admissibility of the complaint, the
Commission deems it necessary to clarify that the petitioner’s complaint
in this case is not addressed to the arrest and disappearance of Messrs
Mario Melo Pradenas, Ramón Luis Vivanco, Rodolfo Alejandro Espejo
Gómez and Sergio Alfonso Reyes Navarrete, nor to any possible
violation of Article 4 of the American Convention. Nor does the
complaint concern the criminal investigation of these extrajudicial
summary executions. The petitioner questions the refusal of the Chilean
courts to grant compensation to the relatives of these persons,
particularly after recognition, in the Rettig Report, of State responsibility
7
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