72.
Regarding the newspaper articles, the Court has considered that they may be
assessed when they refer to well-known public facts or declarations by State officials,
or when they corroborate aspects related to the case. Therefore, the Court decides to
admit those documents that are complete or that, at least, permit their source and
date of the publication to be verified. 37
73.
Also, in application of Article 58 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure, the following
documents are incorporated into the case file: (1) the AAAS Report on the changes
that have occurred in the territory of the Punta Piedra Garifuna community from 1993
to date; (2) the Regulations to the Honduran Property Act; (3) Executive Decree 0352001 of August 28, 2001; (4) file No. 6714-2003 on the usurpation complaint filed
against Luis Portillo that prejudiced Félix Ordóñez Suazo, 38 and (5) five certifications of
public deeds related to presumed sales of lots located in the village of Rio Miel.
B.2 Admission of the testimonial and expert evidence
74.
The Court finds it pertinent to admit the statements made during the public
hearing, and before notary public and traditional authorities, insofar as they relate to
the purpose defined by the President in the order requiring them (supra paras. 10 and
12) and the purpose of this case. The Court also admits the statements made during
the on-site visit.
B.3 Admission of the evidence related to mining exploration activities
75.
In a communication of February 25, 2015, the representatives informed the
Court of the intention to conduct mining exploration and extraction activities on part of
the territory of the Punta Piedra community. As evidence of this, they provided a
document entitled “Consolidated Annual Statement, DAC-2014,” prepared by the
CAXINA S.A. Mining Corporation and dated January 27, 2015. This document indicates
that, on December 4, 2014, CAXINA S.A. Mining Corporation received mining
exploration license No. 105/12/2014 to execute activities in the “Punta Piedra II”
mining concession over an area of 800 hectares for a period of 10 years. The
documentation provided by the representatives was forwarded to the Commission and
the State so that they could send their observations. Also, during the on-site
procedure, the Court received a map in this regard from the State and visited one of
the areas where the mining exploration activities would be executed.
76.
Taking into consideration the information provided by the representatives,
together with the observations of the Commission and the State, the Court finds that
the facts alleged with regard to the “Punta Piedra II non-metallic mining concession”
occurred after the presentation of the pleadings and motions brief and the public
hearing in this case. Therefore, the Court considers that, pursuant to Article 57(2) of
the Court's Rules of Procedure, the evidence and information was presented as
Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez, Merits, supra, para. 146, and Case of Omar Humberto Maldonado
Vargas et al., supra, para. 41. In this regard, they provided the newspaper articles mentioned in para. 65.
38
The Court notes that, in the Merits Report, the Commission refers to the complaints filed at the
domestic level and the State's failure to conduct an investigation which prejudiced the members of the Punta
Piedra community. In addition, during the proceedings before the Court, the State mentioned the existence
of an usurpation complaint filed by Félix Ordóñez Suazo against Luis Portillo in 2003. Regarding these facts,
the Court finds that the information provided by the State concerning the existence of the usurpation
complaint completes and clarifies the domestic proceedings that form part of the factual framework of the
said Merits Report (infra paras. 133 to 136).
37
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