58
principle of iura novit curia (supra para. 107), to find, on the basis of the evidence
presented throughout the proceedings and especially on that given by the experts on
detention conditions, that the conditions described are in fact indicative of the
general conditions in Trinidad and Tobago’s prison system, and as such, constitute a
violation of that Article to the detriment of all the victims in the present Case.
171) Conversely, the Court does not consider it necessary to pronounce judgment
on the allegations by the Commission and the representatives of specific violations of
the American Convention concerning the detention conditions of particular victims, in
light of the fact that these violations are encompassed by the broad nature of those
already found in the present Judgment.
172) In light of the foregoing, the Court declares that Trinidad and Tobago violated
the provisions of Article 5(1) and 5(2) of the American Convention, in conjunction
with Article 1(1), to the detriment of Haniff Hilaire, George Constantine, Wenceslaus
James, Denny Baptiste, Clarence Charles, Keiron Thomas, Anthony Garcia, Wilson
Prince, Darrin Roger Thomas, Mervyn Edmund, Samuel Winchester, Martin Reid,
Rodney Davis, Gangadeen Tahaloo, Noel Seepersad, Wayne Matthews, Alfred
Frederick, Natasha De Leon, Vijay Mungroo, Phillip Chotalal, Naresh Boodram, Joey
Ramiah, Nigel Mark, Wilberforce Bernard, Steve Mungroo, Peter Benjamin,
Krishendath Seepersad, Allan Phillip, Narine Sooklal, Amir Mowlah, Mervyn Parris,
and Francis Mansingh.
XII
VIOLATION OF ARTICLES 4(6) AND 8 IN RELATION TO
ARTICLE 1(1) OF THE AMERICAN CONVENTION
(Amnesty, Pardon or Commutation of Sentence)
Contentions of the Commission
173) The Inter-American Commission considered that, in the case of the thirty-two
victims sentenced to death in the present Case, the State did not guarantee an
effective procedure for granting amnesty, pardon or commutation of sentence, thus
failing to comply with the requirements of Article 4(6) of the Convention and the
obligations of the State stipulated in Article 1(1).
174) The Inter-American Commission indicated that Section 88 of the Constitution
of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago provides for an Advisory Committee on the
Power of Pardon.
This committee is charged with considering and making
recommendations to the Minister of National Security as to whether a person
sentenced to death should benefit from the President’s discretionary power of
amnesty, pardon or commutation of sentence.
175) It added that the law does not prescribe guidelines for the exercise of the
Committee’s functions or the President’s discretion, and that the victims in the
present Case had no right to apply for amnesty, pardon or commutation of sentence,
to be informed of the date on which the Committee would consider their case, to
present oral or written arguments before the Committee or to receive its decision
within a reasonable time.
176) Consequently, the Commission asserted that the procedure for granting
amnesty, pardon or commutation of sentence in Trinidad and Tobago does not