82
in a democratic State under the rule of law said jurisdiction must have a restrictive and
exceptional scope and must be geared to protection of special legal interests, linked to the
functions assigned to the military forces by the Law. For this reason, the military must only be
tried there for crimes or offenses that by their very nature affect legal interests that pertain
396
directly to the military.
298. The Commission notes that the case file was archived on September 8, 1997, and
therefore it will not issue any rulings on this matter.
299. As for the disciplinary proceedings, the Commission has indicated, on repeated
occasions through its different mechanisms, that the disciplinary jurisdiction does not constitute a
sufficient forum to hear, sanction, and redress the consequences of human rights violations.397
300. Likewise, the Court has also pointed out that the investigation in the disciplinary
jurisdiction “tends to protect the administrative function and the correction and control of public
officials, so that, in cases of grave human rights violations, it can complement but not substitute
completely the function of the criminal jurisdiction.”398 In the present case, this situation did not arise
because, on September 2, 2003, the Attorney Assigned to Human Rights confirmed the decision to
archive the disciplinary verification pointing out that UNHR “filed proceedings (…) against the leader of
the Self-Defense Forces Ramón María Isaza Arango, as the person allegedly responsible for the
incidents.”
301. As for the contentious-administrative jurisdiction, the Commission has pointed out that
it is a mechanism aimed at supervising the State’s administrative activities and that it only makes it
possible to secure compensation for damages caused by the deed or omission of agents of the State.399
The Court has also deemed that:
When establishing the international responsibility of the State for the violation of the human
rights embodied in Articles 8(1) and 25 of the American Convention, a substantial aspect of the
dispute before the Court is not whether judgments were delivered at the national level or
whether settlements were reached on the civil or administrative responsibility of a State body
with regard to the violations committed to the detriment of the next of kin of the persons
396
I/A Court H.R., Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre v. Colombia. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of January
31, 2006. Series C No. 140, paragraph 189; Case of Palamara Iribarne v. Chile. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of
November 25, 2005. Series C No. 137, paragraph 124; Case of the Mapiripán Massacre v. Colombia. Merits, Reparations and
Costs. Judgment of September 15, 2005. Series C No. 134, paragraph 202; and Case of Lori Berenson Mejía v. Peru. Merits,
Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 25, 2004, Series C No. 119, 142.
397
IACHR, Report No. 74/07, Petition 1136-03, Admissibility, José Antonio Romero Cruz and others, v. Colombia,
October 15, 2007, paragraph 34; Report No. 31/11, Case No. 12.416, Merits, Santo Domingo Massacre, Colombia, March 24,
2011, paragraph 157; Third Report on the Human Rights Situation in Colombia, OEA/Ser/L/V/III.102 Doc. 9 rev. 1, February 26,
1999, Chapter V, paragraph 3.
398
I/A Court H.R., Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre v. Colombia. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of January
31, 2006. Series C No. 140, paragraph 204.
399
IACHR, Report No. 74/07, Petition 1136-03, Admissibility, José Antonio Romero Cruz and others v. Colombia,
October 15, 2007, paragraph 34.