C.4 The administrative proceedings
106. On May 9, 1995, Candelaria Vergara filed a claim for direct reparation against the Nation,
the Ministry of Defense and the National Army, before the Third Section of the Administrative
Litigation Chamber of Cundinamarca.129 The court of first instance rejected the claim on October
30, 2001, on the grounds that forced disappearance by the authorities had not been proven. The
plaintiff lodged an appeal, and, on June 23, 2011, the Council of State confirmed the judgment
of the court of first instance, holding that there was insufficient evidence to establish that State
agents working for the public institutions against which the lawsuit was brought were responsible
for Mr. Movilla’s disappearance.130
VIII
MERITS
107. In the instant case, the Court must examine the international responsibility of the State
of Colombia regarding the alleged forced disappearance of Pedro Julio Movilla Galarcio, beginning
on May 13, 1993, and the State’s subsequent actions to the investigate the facts of the case, in
relation to both the search for Mr. Movilla and the determination of responsibilities for what
occurred. Based on the circumstances described, it is alleged that the human rights of Pedro
Movilla and members of his family were violated. The State has acknowledged some of the
violations, which have been established (supra paras. 32 to 34 and 39).
108.
Based on the American Convention on Human Rights and the Inter-American
Convention on the Forced Disappearance of Persons, and taking into account, where pertinent,
the partial acknowledgment of responsibility made by the State, this Court will now consider the
alleged violations of: a) the rights to recognition of juridical personality, personal integrity, life,
personal liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and freedom of association, against Mr.
Movilla due to his disappearance; b) the rights to judicial guarantees and judicial protection of
Mr. Movilla and his relatives, as well as his relatives’ right to the truth, due to the State’s actions
following Mr. Movilla’s disappearance; and c) the right to personal integrity of Mr. Movilla’s
relatives, due to Pedro Movilla’s disappearance and the State’s subsequent actions. As has been
pointed out (supra para. 39), the Court will not examine the violations of Articles 8(1) and 25(1)
of the Convention due to the failure to investigate Mr. Movilla’s disappearance, which have been
established based on the acknowledgment of responsibility, but, in the second section of this
chapter, it will assess and elaborate on certain implications and consequences of those violations.
VIII.1
RIGHTS TO RECOGNITION OF JURIDICAL PERSONALITY,
TO LIFE, TO PERSONAL INTEGRITY, TO PERSONAL LIBERTY,
TO FREEDOM OF THOUGHT AND EXPRESSION, AND TO
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION, IN RELATION TO THE
OBLIGATIONS TO RESPECT AND GUARANTEE RIGHTS
AND TO ADOPT DOMESTIC LEGAL EFFECTS131
A) Arguments of the Commission and the parties
Cf. Judgment of Section 3 of the Administrative Litigation Chamber of Cundinamarca of October 30, 2001
(evidence file, Annex 84 to the Merits Report, folios 311 to 315).
130
Cf. Judgment of the Council of State - Subsection A of Section 3 of the Administrative Litigation Chamber, of
June 23, 2011.
131
Articles 3, 4, 5, 7, 13, 16, 1(1) and 2 of the American Convention on Human Rights. Allegations regarding the
obligations contained in Articles I a), I b), and I d) of the IACFDP are also examined.
129
29