48
contribute to the investigation and punishment, if applicable, of all the authors. This
evidence must be assessed by the pertinent domestic judicial authorities in the context of
the proceedings that are open or that will be opened in order to determine the truth of what
happened in the case and those responsible, particularly with regard to possible connections
or connivance between State agents and paramilitary groups in the planning and execution
of the violations that are the subject of this case.
163. In addition, the Court observes that, as indicated by the State as a supervening fact,
on February 21, 2008, during a hearing before a prosecutor of the Justice and Peace Unit, a
demobilized member of the paramilitary forces acknowledged his participation in the death
of Mr. Valle Jaramillo, presumably on the orders of the paramilitary leader Carlos Castaño
Gil. This must be verified by the Prosecutor General’s Office, but, in any case, would appear
to corroborate that the violations that are the subject of this case remain unpunished.
164. Furthermore, the Court observes, as it has on other occasions, that the application of
the Justice and Peace Law is currently at an initial stage of procedural activities relating to
receiving the statements (versiones libres) of some of the individuals who have demobilized,
such as those indicated in the previous paragraphs. Subsequently, the National Justice and
Peace Prosecutors Unit and the Superior Courts of the Judicial District must, inter alia, adopt
the corresponding decisions.121 Thus, although the information obtained under the Justice
and Peace Law may contribute to obtaining justice and reparation in this case, it should be
recalled that the time required to bring the pending criminal proceedings to final judgment,
as well as those under the Justice and Peace Law, with their different stages, would have to
be added to the time that has elapsed since the facts.
165. Based on the above, the Court finds that even though criminal investigations have
been conducted, resulting in the conviction of several private individuals, partial impunity
subsists in this case, as the State has acknowledged, to the extent that the whole truth of
the facts and all those responsible have not been determined. In addition, the impunity in
this case is reflected by the trial and conviction in absentia of members of paramilitary
groups, who have benefited from the ineffectiveness of the punishment, because the
warrants for their arrest have not been executed.
B)
Disciplinary proceedings
166. In addition to the criminal proceedings described above, according to the State’s
acknowledgement of the facts, on December 5, 2001, the Delegated Disciplinary Prosecutor
for the Defense of Human Rights opened file No. 008-65478/01 in order to investigate the
alleged responsibility of public officials in the facts of the instant case. However, the file was
archived at the preliminary stage of investigations by a judicial decision of June 13, 2002,
owing to lack of sufficient evidence to charge any public servant. The Court also notes that
disciplinary proceedings were conducted against two judicial officials of the Fourth Criminal
Court of the Specialized Circuit before the Jurisdictional Disciplinary Chamber of the
Sectional Council of the Judiciary of Antioquia for alleged irregularities in the exercise of
their functions. In this regard, the Court observes that, although such disciplinary
proceedings are no substitute for the function of the criminal jurisdiction in cases of human
rights violations, because they tend to protect the administrative function and the correction
and control of public officials rather than trying to clarify the facts and establish the
121
Cf. Articles 16 to 28 of Law 975 of 2005 of July 25, 2005.