in light of the tenets established in its case law on the nature and scope of the obligation to make
reparation and thus order the measures required to redress the damage.441
A.
Injured Party
196. The Court, under the terms of article 63(1) of the Convention, holds as an injured party
anyone who has been declared the victim of violation of a right recognized therein. In this case,
the Court holds the 846 teachers identified in the Annex 1 listing as “injured parties”. Thus, as
victims of the violations set forth in Chapter VIII of this Judgment, they will be considered
beneficiaries of the reparations ordered herein. The Court notes that, according to the information
it has, 185 victims have died.442
B.
Measures of Restitution
197. The Commission recommended that the thirteen judgments discussed in this case be
enforced as soon as possible, disallowing any arguments as to the “autonomous entity” status of
the municipalities or the lack of domestic provisions requiring the allocation of funds to the
municipalities.
198. The representatives discussed enforcement of the judgments under the heading of
pecuniary damage, for which it requested that the State be ordered to pay CLP 72,48,343,002,
distributing to each victim or his or her heirs the individual amount indicated in the financial report
attached to its pleadings and motions brief.443 They clarified that this calculation had been made
on July 31, 2020, and therefore requested that it be updated to the time this judgment is
delivered. In their closing arguments, they underscored the need in calculating the debt to apply
the highest conventional interest rate, in keeping with Article 63 of the Labor Code. They further
requested that the total payment be disbursed to Giampiero Fava Cohen, attorney representing
the victims, who in turn could deliver the amount pertaining to each victim or their heirs,
according to the judgment.
199. The State asked that, if the Court should hold in favor of enforcement of the judgments,
the amounts owed be determined by each of the different labor courts that had handed down the
original judgments. It added that requesting the Court to make a unilateral determination of the
amount owed and means of payment would suggest that this Court could operate as an executive
collections panel, which “severely distorts the sense and purpose of the inter-American system.”
200. It then pointed to the request for the total amount to be transferred to the representative
Giampiero Fava Cohen, arguing that it would be impossible to transfer millions of dollars to an
individual, expecting him to duly redress the victims. Because these would be public monies, it
would be the State’s obligation to exercise oversight and make sure the funds were placed in the
hands of the alleged victims in their entirety and be able to render an accounting. It therefore
requested, if international responsibility were to be declared, that the Court order enforcement of
the judgments within a reasonable period, without setting payment formulas exogenous to the
practice of the System or quantifying the amounts of the debt.
441
Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras. Reparations and Costs, supra, paras. 25 and 26, and Case of
Vera Rojas et al. v. Chile, supra, para. 159.
442
Cf. Death certificates submitted by the representatives as annexes to their final pleadings (evidence file, folios
19266 to 19459).
443
Cf. Report “Current estimate of amounts outstanding for failure to comply with judicial findings delivered in
the case of the teachers by the courts of Chañaral, Vallenar, Parral, Cauquenes and Chanco,” prepared by Claudio
Bonilla, Guísela Gallardo and Gonzalo Polanco (evidence file, folios 9329 to 9469).
66
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