43
138. In conclusion, the Court points out that, when the facts occurred, the exception
contained in Article 114 bis of the Criminal Code violates Article 2 of the Convention
since Ecuador had not adopted adequate measures under its domestic law to give
effect to the right enshrined in Article 7(5) of the Convention.
XII
Article 5 of the American Convention
(Right to Humane Treatment)
ARGUMENTS OF THE COMMISSION
139. The Commission did not present any arguments regarding Article 5 of the
Convention.
ARGUMENTS OF THE REPRESENTATIVES
140.
Regarding Article 5 of the Convention the representatives stated that:
a)
the State violated Mr. Acosta Calderón’s right to humane treatment
recognized in Article 5(1) and 5(2) of the Convention;
b)
“[e]ven though there isn’t any evidence that Mr. […] Acosta Calderón has
been tortured, we do consider that his psychic and moral integrity were not
respected. Likewise, we consider that there was no respect to the inherent
dignity of human beings in the terms provided in the Convention;”
c)
“submitting a person to an arbitrary detention, to the deprivation of
judicial guarantees and [to the] right [to a] due process and to a judicial lack of
protection under clear discriminatory conditions, necessarily produces moral
suffering, without it being necessary to present evidence regarding this
suffering[,] since it results evident from human nature itself;” and
d)
“all form of reduction or non-recognition of human dignity, the basis
itself of human rights, is a form of cruel treatment, since it implies a partial, or
even total, non-recognition of the person’s human condition. Everybody
evidently suffers when they are deprived in any way of one of the prerogatives
or rights that must be recognized constantly by everybody. Any dwindling in
what it means to be a person necessarily leads to a violation to humane
treatment, since the individual would no longer be a whole.”
CONSIDERATIONS OF THE COURT
141.
Article 5 of the Convention determines that:
1. [e]very person has the right to have his physical, mental, and moral integrity
respected.
2. [n]o one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or
treatment. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with respect for the
inherent dignity of the human person.
[…]