37
125. Moral damage may include suffering and affliction caused to the direct victims
and their next of kin, detriment to very significant personal values, as well as nonpecuniary alterations in the conditions of existence of a victim or his or her family.
Since it is not possible to assign a precise monetary equivalent to non-pecuniary
damage, for purposes of comprehensive reparation to victims, the Court must turn to
other alternatives: first, payment of an amount of money or delivery of goods or
services that can be estimated in monetary terms, which the Court will establish
through reasonable application of judicial discretion and equity; and second, acts or
works which are public in their scope or effects, commitment to efforts seeking to
avoid the repetition of violations, as well as recognition of the victim's dignity.51
126. It is well settled in international jurisprudence that a judgment constitutes,
per se, a form of reparation. However, considering the circumstances of the present
case and its non-pecuniary consequences, the Court deems it appropriate that the
moral damages must also be repaired, on grounds of equity, through the payment of
compensation.52
127. In order to determine compensation for the moral damage suffered by the
victim, the Court has taken into account the aggravating circumstances of his
corporal punishment with the “cat-o-nine tails”, namely the anguish, deep fear and
humiliation suffered by Mr. Caesar prior to and during the flogging. Moreover, the
Court notes that the delay in executing the sentence increased his anguish while he
was waiting to be punished. As a result of the corporal punishment, Mr. Caesar
continues to experience pain in his shoulders and he has also suffered, inter alia,
from symptoms of depression, fear, and anxiety of a severity sufficient to allow the
expert witness Robert Ferris to diagnose, at a minimum, an adjustment disorder.
And finally, since his incarceration, the victim has suffered from serious health
problems that have not been properly treated by state authorities (supra paras.
49(18), 49(19), 49(21), 49(31), 49(32) and 89).
128. Taking all of the elements of the present case into account, the Court sees fit,
on grounds of equity, to direct Trinidad and Tobago to grant an indemnity of US $
50.000,00 (fifty thousand United States of America dollars) to Mr. Winston Caesar
for moral damages. The Court notes here that no specific arguments or requests
regarding Mr. Caesar's next-of-kin were submitted.
B)
OTHER FORMS OF REPARATION
(SATISFACTION MEASURES AND NON-REPETITION GUARANTEES)
129. In this chapter, the Court will determine the satisfaction measures to repair
non-pecuniary damages; such measures seek to impact the public sphere.53
51
Cf. Case of Plan de Sánchez Massacre. Reparations, supra note 10, para. 80; Case of De la CruzFlores, supra note 16, para. 155; and Case of Tibi, supra note 16, para. 242.
52
Cf. Case of Lori Berenson-Mejía, supra note 10, para. 235; Case of Carpio-Nicolle et al., supra
note 10, para. 177; and Case of Plan de Sánchez Massacre. Reparations, supra note 10, para. 81.
53
Cf. Case of De la Cruz-Flores, supra note 16, para. 164; Case of Plan de Sánchez Massacre.
Reparations, supra note 10, para. 52; and Case of the “Juvenile Reeducation Institute”, supra note 37,
para. 310.
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