3
bodies need to participate. This is because in the implementation of reparation
measures, different organs and institutions of the States – whether central or
federal and at different levels- as well as the different branches established in
their political constitutions can be involved.
5. As previously mentioned, due to its complex nature, this compliance process
cannot be analyzed in an isolated manner or under abstract academic or
mathematical logic, or by turning deadlines into objectives in and of themselves,
but taking into account the different variables and factors that lead to full
compliance with a Judgment issued by the Inter-American Court. For example, in
relation to judicial investigation proceedings and, if applicable, the subsequent
punishment of gross human rights violations (where the rights of third parties are
involved), or to those reparations that require legal amendments or the design
and implementation of public policies, these are complex processes in which it is
essential to verify their general purpose and to follow them.
6. This reality does not imply that States can shield themselves with the slow pace of
domestic institutional proceedings or complex institutional tangles in order to
avoid compliance with that ordered. The Court’s experience has demonstrated
that compliance with these reparations entails a process in which the Court’s
persistence in the meticulous job of monitoring implementation of reparation
measures ordered is of utmost importance. Monitoring compliance with the
reparation measures ordered in the judgments issued by the Inter-American
Court, as an area of jurisdiction inherent to its judicial function, is a fundamental
stage for achieving the effet utile of its decisions in the domestic sphere.
Conversely, the search for comprehensive reparation can become diluted if there
is no adequate, timely, effective, and rigorous supervision. For this reason, it has
become necessary to adopt specific procedures and appropriate mechanisms that
allow the Court to exercise in an increasingly rigorous manner its function –and
judicial duty- of monitoring in accordance with the mandate established in the
American Convention, its Statute and Rules of Procedure, and at the same time,
of guiding and supporting the States and the victims of human rights violations in
obtaining full compliance with its orders in the most prompt and agile manner.
7. Article 65 of the American Convention is clear in ordering the Court to submit to
consideration of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States a
report on its work during the previous year, indicating the cases in which a State
has not complied with its decisions. This does not require much commentary or
analysis, as the content of this provision is evident from its text. What is
important to highlight is that in order to be able to seriously comply with this
mandate and to not abdicate the Court’s function of guaranteeing compliance with
its decisions, the stage of monitoring compliance with the judgment allows the
Inter-American Court, precisely, to assess the degree of compliance with the
reparations ordered and determine the time, if applicable, when the jurisdiction of
the Court may be considered exhausted and thus be transferred to the General
Assembly. Similarly, the monitoring of compliance with judgments and the active
work of the Court in this area allow the Tribunal, precisely, and as has been
regularly done, to present before the General Assembly each year, through its
Annual Report on its work, the status of compliance with its judgments.
8. In this regard, the application of Article 65 of the Convention, to the effect of
specifically pointing out a State to the General Assembly so that the latter may act
in its capacity as collective guarantor of the Inter-American system, is limited to
those exceptional cases in which a State’s effective reluctance or refusal to
comply with a judgment is proven. This situation has occurred in specific cases