47
legal arguments were incorrect, is also incompatible with the scope of Article 8(2)(h) of the American
Convention.
218.
Therefore, the Commission concludes that the Argentine State violated, to the detriment
of Saúl Cristián Roldán Cajal, the right recognized in Article 8(2)(h) of the American Convention, in relation
to the obligations set forth in articles 1(1) and 2 thereof.
2.4
Ricardo David Videla Fernández
219.
The IACHR has established as proven fact that Ricardo David Videla Fernández’ private
defense attorney filed cassation motions to challenge the verdict and sentence in each of the following
cases joined in the judgment: 121/02, 112/02, 109/02, 110/02, 117/02 and 116/02. The issues raised in
these motions can be summarized as follows: a failure to disqualify certain pieces of evidence;
misapplication of the substantive law; a lack of legal reasoning, illogical reasoning and the arbitrary nature
of the sentence. All the motions were formally dismissed by the Mendoza Supreme Court in a decision
dated April 24, 2003.
220.
According to the proven facts, one of the main arguments used to justify dismissal of the
motions was the absence of arguments showing clearly and concretely how the so-called invalid or
unlawful evidence had a “decisive and essential” impact on the decision. The Mendoza Supreme Court
decided to deny the cassation motion on procedural grounds and did not examine the merits of the claims.
In its view, merely claiming an irregularity was not sufficient to warrant a review of the use of a certain
piece of evidence. As was indicated in the section on general standards governing the right to appeal a
judgment, one of the characteristics of the remedy contemplated in Article 8(2)(h) of the American
Convention is that it must be accessible; in order words, formal or procedural requirements cannot be used
as a means to thwart access to a review. The Commission considers that the position taken by the
Mendoza Supreme Court unduly restricted the right to have a conviction reviewed and thereby prevented
Ricardo David Videla Fernández from exercising the right recognized in Article 8(2)(h) of the American
Convention.
221.
The Mendoza Supreme Court also deemed that the cassation motions were used to raise
questions that are not subject to review at this “exceptional and restrictive” stage. Specifically, the
Mendoza Supreme Court observed that the motions did not accept facts that the lower court had deemed
to be established, which “inevitably limited” the review function that the court of cassation could perform.
In this regard, the Commission has already concluded in previous sections that positions of the kind taken
by the Mendoza Supreme Court limit the scope of review by precluding claims made regarding matters of
fact and the weighing of evidence, which is incompatible with the right to appeal a judgment.
222.
The Commission therefore concludes that the Argentine State violated, to the detriment
of Ricardo David Videla Fernández, the right recognized in Article 8(2)(h) of the American Convention, in
relation to the obligations undertaken in articles 1(1) and 2 thereof.
3.
Observations on subsequent developments concerning the right to appeal a
judgment.
223.
The Commission has concluded that the Argentine State violated the right to appeal a
judgment, recognized in Article 8(2)(h) of the American Convention, to the detriment of César Alberto
Mendoza, Claudio David Núñez, Lucas Matías Mendoza, Saúl Cristián Roldán Cajal and Ricardo David
Videla Fernández.
224.
These violations were not the result of a single interpretation by one judge. Instead, they
occurred in the context of a law and/or practice that precluded a review of the facts and the weighing and
taking of evidence. Accordingly, the Commission concluded that the State not only violated the right
recognized in Article 8(2)(h) of the American Convention, but also its obligation to adopt such legislative or
other measures as may be necessary to give effect to that right, as set forth in Article 2 of the Convention.