7
The State is firm in maintaining criteria based on case law of the Supreme Court of
Justice in contentious-administrative cases and has failed to follow the applicable
labor scheme; the calculation and payment procedure is inconsistent with domestic
laws in that payments were proposed without discrimination or specification as to the
amount of each benefit and in disregard of the adversarial nature of procedural law.
They also stated that in the benefit calculations there is no provision for workeremployer allowances, which should be updated pursuant to the salary accrued up to
date and paid to the Social Security Fund, and which form part of the assets of the
workers and their social rights, even though they are not collectable by the victims.
Furthermore, they asserted that the distribution of the twenty millions unilaterally
estimated by the State has not been duly carried out and that setting a term of 11
years to pay out all the victims (7 years as from the Judgment and 4 more years for
full payment of the agreements) directly affects those workers who have never been
reinstated and benefits those who have been employed with the State for more than
the 11 years yet to be paid out. They alleged that “the victims who have not been
employed with the State and who have been neither reinstated nor indemnified are
only recognized salaries for one year and do not earn any income from the State.”
12.
That the Inter-American Commission highlighted that there are important
interpretation differences as to the compliance parameters set out in the Judgment
by the Court. Moreover, it stated that the obligations deriving from the Judgment
and subsequent payment orders have not been fully honoured and that it is
paramount that the State explain how the calculation criteria and the new
determination of unpaid salaries and further labor rights conform to domestic laws in
force and the Judgment of the Court, and make specifications as to “the controversy
under current and applicable domestic law regarding the unpaid salaries calculation
and the State proposal exclusion criteria for basic labor rights.” It considered it
essential to know the details concerning the adoption of effective measures to
guarantee the execution of the reparations ordered by the Court, in good faith,
forthwith and taking into account the particular situation of each victim.
13.
That the Court observes that the State submitted information on the
compliance with the obligations deriving from the Judgment, in particular, as to: a)
the payments made; b) the amount that, in its opinion, each victim should still
collect; c) the information on the payment proposal regarding the twenty million
balboas; d) the amount to be collected by each victim or successor; and e) the
criteria used to determine such amounts.
14.
That the parties expressed significant discrepancies concerning the amounts
due and the legal criteria on which the calculations made by the State were based.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, a great number of victims signed the reparation
agreements proposed by the State; therefore, the Court will address, firstly, said
agreements and their effects on the signatory victims or successors and, secondly,
the situation of non-signatory persons or those who withdrew their consent after
signing.
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