10
34.
On December 30, 2002, the State submitted its reply to Report No. 63/02
relative to the merits of the case issued by the Commission. In said brief the State
expressed, in relation to the first of the Commission’s recommendations (supra para.
31), that “it had decided […] to undertake the responsibility of encouraging a
legislative reform within the realm of the civil courts in order to make possible, at
any given time, the annulment of proceedings within the process when there is proof
that a confession has been obtained through torture or when some similar
circumstance is proven.” However, the State alleged that “the homicide trial in
which [Mr.] Alfonso Martín del Campo was prosecuted […] is res judicata and, in
terms of the applicable legislation, it is not possible at this time to invoke any given
legal remedy which may permit the revision of the prosecution in its entirety and
encourage the pertinent measures to annul the confession obtained presumably
under torture.” In turn, the State maintained that, in spite of the above, it was
“studying the possibility to establish some legal basis that [would] make it possible
to implement a mechanism that [would] follow up the recommendation” of the InterAmerican Commission.
Concerning the second recommendation made by the
Commission in its report (supra para. 31), the State pointed out that on December
26, 2002 the Deputy Attorney General for Central Preliminary Investigations of the
Distrito Federal Attorney General’s Office had adopted a resolution ordering the
reopening of Preliminary Investigation SC/3839/95-03, relative to offences allegedly
perpetrated by several public servants against Mr. Alfonso Martín-del-Campo.
Concerning the reparation recommended by the Commission (supra para. 31), The
State expressed that “taking into consideration the current status of the preliminary
investigations and the proceedings already legally resolved, the reparation would not
be altogether ‘adequate,’ for the lack of certain elements to be taken into
consideration, which would probably be included as a result of the preliminary
investigation that just started.”
35.
On January 21, 2003, the Inter-American Commission decided to submit the
case to the Court.
IV
PROCEEDINGS WITH THE COURT
36.
On January 30, 2003, the Inter-American Commission filed the application
with the Court. The appendices to the application were received on February 03,
2003.
37.
In conformity with Article 22 of the Rules of Procedure, the Commission
named Messrs. Juan Méndez and Santiago A. Canton as its Delegates before the
Court, and Messrs. Mario López-Garelli y Ariel Dulitzky 1 as its legal advisors.
Similarly, and in conformity with Article 33 of the Rules of Procedure, the
Commission provided the names and addresses of the alleged victim and of his next
of kin, and informed that they would be represented by ACAT and CEJIL.
38.
On February 20, 2003, after a preliminary study of the application by the
President of the Court (hereinafter the “President”), the Secretariat of the Court
(hereinafter the “Secretariat”), transmitted it to the State together with its
appendices and informed it about the terms allowed for a response and for the
designation of its representation in the proceedings.
1
The Commission made several changes to its representation in the process of the instant case.