3
detriment of Carmen Cornejo de Albán and of Bismarck Albán-Sánchez. Likewise, it
requested the Court to order the State to adopt certain reparation measures.
5.
On October 14, 2006 Mr. Farith Simon-Campaña and Mr. Alejandro PonceVillacís,4 of the Legal Clinics of the Law School of the San Francisco de Quito
University (Clínicas Jurídicas del Colegio de Jurisprudencia de la Universidad San
Francisco de Quito) in Ecuador, in their capacity as representatives of the alleged
victims (hereinafter “the representatives”), filed their brief containing pleadings,
motions and evidence (hereinafter “brief of pleadings and motions”). The
representatives requested the Tribunal to declare that the State violated Articles 4
(Right to Life), 5 (Right to Humane Treatment), 8 (Right to a Fair Trial) and 25
(Right to Judicial Protection) of the American Convention, to the detriment of Laura
Albán; and Articles 5 (Right to Humane Treatment), 8 (Right to a Fair Trial), 13
(Freedom of Thought and Expression), 17 (Rights of the Family) and 25 (Right to
Judicial Protection) of the Convention, to the detriment of Carmen Cornejo de Albán
and Bismarck Albán-Sánchez. The representatives alleged a violation of such Articles
in relation to Article 1(1) (Obligation to Respect Rights) and 2 (Domestic Legal
Effects) of the American Convention. Lastly, they requested the Court to order the
State to adopt certain reparation measures and to pay costs and expenses arising
from the processing of the case in domestic legal proceedings and in proceedings
before the organs the Inter-American System for the Promotion and Protection of
Human Rights.
6.
On December 15, 2006 the State5 filed its answer to the application and its
observations to the brief of pleadings and motions (hereinafter “answer to the
application”). It pointed out that it had not violated neither Article 4 (Right to Life),
nor Articles 8 (Right to a Fair Trial) and 25 (Right to Judicial Protection), all three of
the American Convention, and “reaffirm[ed] its purpose of satisfying the right to
truth of the alleged victims without acknowledging a violation of the rights protected
under Articles 4, 13, and 17 of the American Convention”. Regarding Article 5 of the
Convention, in its final written arguments, the State requested that the claim be
dismissed. Lastly, it objected to the amount of money requested by the
representatives as reparations, costs and expenses.
II
JURISDICTION
7.
The Court has jurisdiction to hear the current case pursuant to Articles 62(3)
and 63(1) of the Convention, as Ecuador has been a State Party to the Convention
since December 28, 1977, and accepted the contentious jurisdiction of the Court on
July 24, 1984.
4
The victims, by means of a power of attorney, appointed Farith Simon-Campaña and Alejandro
Ponce-Villacís, from the Legal Clinics of the Law School of the San Francisco de Quito University (Clínicas
Jurídicas del Colegio de Jurisprudencia de la Universidad San Francisco de Quito), in Ecuador, as
representatives before the Court.
5
The State appointed Erick Roberts, Assistant Director for Human Rights of the Office of the
Attorney General (Subdirector de Derechos Humanos de la Procuraduría) as Agent and Salim Zaidán, an
official of the Office of the Assistant Director for Human Rights of the Office of the Attorney General
(Subdirección de Derechos Humanos de la Procuraduría) as Alternate Agent.