61. Regarding the first of these points, the information available indicates that when the
petition was presented, Mr. Zegarra Marín was no longer in prison, since an order was adopted
during the proceedings declaring his preventive custody inadmissible. Thus, that aspect of the
petition was resolved by the State through domestic channels. In such circumstances, the
petitioner’s claims would be limited to seeking redress for that circumstance, but no
information appears regarding remedies pursued toward that end. Consequently, it declares
that element of the petition inadmissible.
62. As regards the second point, the Commission notes that the alleged victim challenged the
PNP resolution whereby he was forcibly retired through both administrative and judicial
channels. The annexes to the case file indicate that both appeals were ruled inadmissible
because the petitioner had lodged the reconsideration remedy after the filing deadline had
passed, which prevented him from securing a judgment on the merits of the matter in
accordance with applicable law. The petitioner claims that the delay in filing was because he
was unaware of the resolution; however, the proceedings saw several items of evidence that
led to the conclusion that Mr. Zegarra Marín had been apprised of the resolution. The
Commission has no evidence to justify disputing that conclusion, nor did the petitioner submit
further arguments in that regard. The Commission therefore considers that as regards this
point, the petitioner exhausted the available domestic remedies incorrectly.
63. With regard to the third point, the Commission notes that the petitioner pursued the
ordinary and special remedies available to him. Thus, the documents presented by the
petitioner indicate that he lodged an appeal for annulment against his conviction. That appeal
was dismissed by the Supreme Criminal Chamber on December 17, 1997, on the grounds that
the guilt of the alleged victim had been established. The case file also indicated that on
September 14, 1998, the petitioner lodged a special review appeal, alleging violations of due
process and of the principle of presumption of innocence. That remedy was resolved
unfavorably for him by the Supreme Court of Justice on August 24, 1999, which ruled it not to
be covered by the grounds expressly provided for in law for its admissibility. The State has
submitted no information about any other possible remedies available to the petitioner for
challenging the alleged violations.
64. In consideration whereof, the Commission believes that as regards the alleged violations of
due process, the petitioner did exhaust the domestic remedies in compliance with the
requirement imposed by Article 46.1.a of the American Convention. In the following
paragraphs, the IACHR will restrict its analysis of the other admissibility requirements to that
aspect of the petition.
C.
Filing Period
65. Article 46.1.b of the Convention states that for a petition to be admissible, it must be
lodged within a period of six months following the date on which the complainant was notified
of the final judgment at the national level.
66. As indicated in paragraph 64 above, the domestic remedies were exhausted with the
decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of August 24, 1999, of which notice was served on
November 5 of that year.7 The petition is dated February 8, 2000, and it was received by the
IACHR on May 16, 2000. Although it is uncertain on what date it was sent, the Commission
believes that it is reasonable to assume some delay between its deposit in the postal system
and its delivery, and it therefore concludes that eleven days is a reasonable delay for the
lodging of the petition. The Commission, citing the Inter-American Court, has on different
occasions stated the generally accepted principle that the procedural system is a means of
7 Annex 8 of the initial petition, received on May 16, 2000. The Peruvian State does not dispute the date of
notification.
8