“declare[d] the judicial complaint inadmissible (...) in view of the fact that the 15 working days indicated by the
penitentiary law expired approximately 2 years ago."68
IV.
ANALYSIS OF LAW
A.
The right to personal liberty,69 fair trial,70 and judicial protection71
1.
The right to not be illegally deprived of liberty
88.
The IACHR recalls that Article 7 of the American Convention enshrines guarantees on the right
to liberty that the States Parties have committed to respect and guarantee. Specifically, Article 7(2) of the
American Convention addresses the formal and material legality of the detention of an individual. This article
"recognizes the main guarantee of the right to physical liberty: the legal exception, according to which the right
to personal liberty can only be affected by a law.”72 The legal exception required to affect the right to personal
liberty in keeping with Article 7(2) of the Convention must of necessity be accompanied by the principle of
legality, requiring States to establish “beforehand” and as specifically as possible the grounds for and conditions
of deprivation of physical liberty.73 Thus Article 7(2) of the Convention refers automatically to domestic law.
Therefore, any requirement established in domestic law that is not followed when depriving a person of liberty
will mean that the deprivation is illegal and a violation of the American Convention.74
89.
The Commission observes that El Salvador's Criminal Procedural Code allows for a person
discovered in flagrante delicto to be detained, indicating that "a flagrant violation is committed when the
perpetrator of the crime is discovered at the moment of committing or attempting to commit a crime, or
immediately after having committed it or within 24 hours of the act, or when discovered with objects or
elements with which the crime has been committed or resulting from it, or when pursued by authorities or
private parties.75
90.
In this case, the Commission underscores that the alleged victim was detained on February
28, 2008, while she was receiving medical care in the Hospital Nacional de San Francisco Gotera. The
authorities who arrested Manuela argued she was in "flagrant" violation and stated that they conducted a visual
inspection of the place of the facts, where they found the lifeless body of a newborn.
91.
The IACHR highlights a number of elements that led to the conclusion that this was an illegal
detention that does not fall within the grounds of flagrant violation: (i) first, the alleged victim was not
discovered in the act of committing the alleged crime, as the facts of which she is accused would have taken
place on February 26, 2008, and she went to the hospital's emergency room on February 27, 2008, and was
arrested on February 28, 2008; (ii) second, the Commission notes a total lack of immediacy between the alleged
criminal acts and the detention, underscoring that the authorities applied the standard of flagrant violation as
a result of a visual inspection conducted two days after the facts that originated based on testimony and
evidence obtained while the alleged victim was receiving medical care; and (iii) the results of the visual
Annex 31. Denial of Judicial Complaint. Annex 13.1 to the initial petition of March 21, 2012.
Article 7 of the American Convention establishes the following: 1. Every person has the right to personal liberty and security; 2. No one
shall be deprived of his physical liberty except for the reasons and under the conditions established beforehand by the constitution of the
State Party concerned or by a law established pursuant thereto; 3. No one shall be subject to arbitrary arrest or imprisonment; 4. Anyone
who is detained shall be informed of the reasons for his detention and shall be promptly notified of the charge or charges against him.
70 Article 8 of the Convention establishes the following: “(...) 2. Every person accused of a criminal offense has the right to be presumed
innocent so long as his guilt has not been proven according to law.”
71 Article 25(1) of the American Convention establishes that, 1. Everyone has the right to simple and prompt recourse, or any other effective
recourse, to a competent court or tribunal for protection against acts that violate his fundamental rights recognized by the constitution or
laws of the state concerned or by this Convention, even though such violation may have been committed by persons acting in the course of
their official duties.
72 Inter-American Court. Case of Chaparro Álvarez and Lapo Íñiguez. v. Ecuador. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations, and Costs.
Judgment of November 21, 2007. Series C No. 170, para. 56.
73 IACHR. Report on Citizen Security and Human Rights. December 31, 2009, paras. 144-146.
74 IACHR Report No. 74/15, Case 12,846. Merits. Mariana Selvas Gómez et al. Mexico. October 28, 2015, para. 317.
75 Article 288 of the Criminal Procedural Code of El Salvador.
68
69
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