undertake to comply with the judgment of the Court in any case to which they are parties.”
To this end, the States must ensure that the provisions of the Court’s judgments are
implemented at the domestic level.1
3.
The States Parties to the Convention that have accepted the binding jurisdiction of
the Court have the duty to comply with the obligations established by the Court. This
obligation includes the State’s duty to inform the Court of the measures taken to comply
with the decisions of the Court in its judgments. Prompt observance of the State’s obligation
to inform the Court of the way in which it is complying with each aspect ordered by the
Court is essential to evaluate the status of compliance with the judgment as a whole.2
4.
The time frame for the presentation of the first report on compliance with the
judgment expires on June 24, 2012. However, on October 6, 2011, the State presented a
report in which it indicated, in general, that on August 15, 2011, the Ministry of Justice,
Human Rights and Worship had signed a “Compliance Agreement” with Mercedes Vera
Valdes, mother of Pedro Miguel Vera Vera and, in turn, a victim in the instant case, and
with her representative. The agreement included a timetable for complying with the
measures of reparation ordered by the Court. The State forwarded a copy of this document.
Since the Court has already received the observations on this report from the
representative and the Inter-American Commission, and since progress in compliance with
most of the measures of reparation ordered has been verified, the Court finds it pertinent to
issue this order.
A.
Obligation to adopt, within a reasonable time, the necessary measures for
the mother of Pedro Miguel Vera Vera to know what happened to her son (second
operative paragraph of the judgment)
5.
The State advised that in the Compliance Agreement, it “undertook to prepare an
official report on the detention conditions of Mr. Vera Vera and the actions taken by State
agents with regard to his health.” This report would be submitted to Mrs. Vera Valdez for
her approval, and presented in December 2011.
6.
The representative also mentioned the commitments deriving from the Compliance
Agreement in relation to this obligation. However, he indicated that, as of November 2011,
he was still waiting for these commitments to be met.
7.
The Inter-American Commission stated that it assessed “positively the signature of
the agreement between the parties, [and awaited] the State's presentation of a copy of the
report” to be submitted in December 2011. The Commission indicated that it would
formulate specific observations on whether the said report “meets the expectations of the
next of kin of the victim for the truth, in the terms ordered” by the Court.
8.
The Court emphasizes that shortly after the judgment was notified, the State
contacted Mrs. Vera Valdez and her representative in order to make proposals to them and
reach agreement on how it would comply with this obligation. According to the information
1
Cf. Case of Baena Ricardo et al. Competence. Judgment of November 28, 2003. Series C No. 104, para.
60; and Case of Chitay Nech et al. v. Guatemala. Monitoring compliance with judgment. Order of the InterAmerican Court of Human Rights of December 1, 2011, third considering paragraph.
2
Cf. Case of Barrios Altos v. Peru. Monitoring compliance with judgment. Order of the Order of the InterAmerican Court of Human Rights of September 22, 2005, seventh considering paragraph; and Case of Chitay Nech
et al. v. Guatemala, supra note 1, sixth considering paragraph.
2