272. The State indicated that it did not owe any type of monetary reparation for nonpecuniary damage because it had conducted a serious and diligent investigation and had
sanctioned the forensic physician whose negligence had led to a delay in the investigation. Also,
even though several years had passed since the facts of the case, the family members had not
requested any psychological assistance or indicated that there was an impediment to their
emotional recovery and it was only now that they had asked for monetary reparation, without
mentioning that they had received psychological treatment of any kind. Therefore, it asked the
Court “not to allow this to become an action for unjust enrichment.” Lastly, it asked that, if the
Court concluded that it should make reparation for non-pecuniary damage to the family, this
amount be established in equity, without taking into account the exorbitant amounts requested.
273. In its case law, the Court has developed the concept of non-pecuniary damage and has
established that this “may include both the suffering and anguish caused by the violation and
the impairment of values that are very significant for the individual and any alternation, of a
non-pecuniary nature, in the living conditions of victims.”353 Since it is not possible to assign a
precise monetary equivalent to non-pecuniary damage, it can only be compensated, for the
purposes of providing full reparation to the victim, by the payment of a sum of money or the
delivery of goods and services having a monetary value, which the Court determines in
reasonable applicable of sound judicial criteria and in terms of equity. 354
274. In Chapters VII.I, VII.II and VII.III, the Court established, on the one hand, in relation to
Claudina Isabel Velásquez Paiz, the international responsibility of the State for the failure to
prevent acts that violated her rights to life and to personal integrity. On the other hand, it has
been established that various deficiencies in the investigation of those acts affected access to
justice, and the Court declared the violation of the rights to personal integrity and to respect for
the honor and recognition of the dignity of the members of her family. In addition, it was
verified that Jorge Rolando Velásquez Durán had played an active role in the domestic
investigation. Based on the foregoing, the Court establishes, in equity, for non-pecuniary
damage, the sum of US$60,000.00 (sixty thousand United States dollars) in favor of Claudina
Velásquez Paiz; the sum of US$18,000.00 (eighteen thousand United States dollars) in favor of
Jorge Rolando Velásquez Durán; the sum of US$15,000.00 (fifteen thousand United States
dollars) in favor of Elsa Claudina Paiz Vidal, and the sum of US$12,000.00 (twelve thousand
United States dollars) in favor of Pablo Andrés Velásquez Paiz. The amount established in favor
of Claudina Velásquez Paiz shall be divided equally between, and delivered to, Jorge Rolando
Velásquez Durán, Elsa Claudina Paiz Vidal and Pablo Andrés Velásquez Paiz.
D.2. Pecuniary damage
275. The representatives requested payment of US$692,424.44 for loss of earnings in favor
of Claudina Velásquez and US$588,031.44 for loss of earnings in favor of Jorge Rolando
Velásquez. In this regard, they indicated that, at the time of her death, Claudina Velásquez was
in the fourth semester of her law studies in the Faculty of Legal and Social Sciences of the
Universidad de San Carlos, “one of the most prestigious in Guatemala.” She was completely
bilingual and had plans to specialize in criminal law in Spain. Added to this, they asked that her
age and life expectancy be taken into account. In the case of the victim’s father, Jorge Rolando
Velásquez Durán, they argued that he had had to abandon his professional activities with which
he maintained his family to devote himself to expediting the judicial investigation into his
daughter’s murder, despite the fact that this investigation should have been expedited, ex
Cf. Case of the “Street Children” (Villagrán Morales et al.) v. Guatemala. Reparations and costs. Judgment of
May 26, 2001. Series C No. 77, para. 84, and Case of López Lone et al. v. Honduras, supra, para. 320.
354
Cf. Case of Cantoral Benavides v. Peru. Reparations and costs. para. 53, and Case of Argüelles et al. v.
Argentina. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 20, 2014. Series C No. 288,
para. 286.
353
89