24
(ii) The impossibility of establishing
shareholdings” of the RCTV shareholders
a
violation
owing
to
the
“complex
92.
Second, the majority opinion held that it had been proved that the presumed victims
were shareholders of legal persons or separate autonomous properties that, in turn, were
shareholders or owners of a chain with between one and up to five separate autonomous
properties or legal persons leading to the company RCTV C.A.101 On this basis, the majority
opinion concluded that this shareholding was “complex,” as a result of a broad company
structure of legal persons with separate patrimonies, which ma[de] it even more difficult to
be able to establish a direct and clear relationship between the alleged loss of share value
and the harm to the patrimony of the legal entity, RCTV.”102 In addition, it considered that,
in keeping with the case of Perozo et al. v. Venezuela, “it was necessary to prove how the
harm to the assets owned by “Globovisión” resulted in harm to the rights of the company’s
shareholders and, since it did not find that this harm had been proved, it concluded that the
shareholders’ right to property had not been violated in that case.”103
93.
Regarding this second aspect, it is very important to clarify that it is neither complex
nor difficult to establish a direct and evident relationship between the loss of value of the
shares and the adverse effects on the property of the RCTV shareholders. This is because, as
in the case of Perozo et al. v. Venezuela,104 there is no dispute between the parties and it has
even been considered a proven fact of the case that Marcel Granier, Peter Bottome, Jaime
Nestares, Jean Nestares, Fernando Nestares, Francisco Nestares and Alicia Phelps de Tovar
are shareholders and owners of the company RCTV through separate autonomous companies
and patrimonies.105 The complexity of the RCTV shareholding structure could, in any case,
make it difficult to determine the exact quantum of the deterioration in the value of the
company’s shares, but does not constitute an element to conclude that, all in all, there were
no adverse effects on the value of the shares owned by Marcel Granier, Peter Bottome, Jaime
Nestares, Jean Nestares, Fernando Nestares, Francisco Nestares and Alicia Phelps de Tovar.
94.
In the case of Perozo, the Inter-American Court considered that “Alberto Federico
Ravell and Guillermo Zuloaga [were] shareholders of the company UNITEL de Venezuela C.A.,
which [was], in turn, owner of the television station Globovisión and the evidence submitted
showed that they were shareholders […], in part, of the television station Globovisión at the
time of the alleged facts.”106 In this regard, “[t]he representatives presented the articles of
incorporation and the minutes of the shareholders' meetings of UNITEL de Venezuela C.A.,
Corpomedios GV Inversiones, C.A. and Globovisión Tele, C.A., in order to prove that Mr. Ravell
and Mr. Zuloaga were shareholders of Globovisión […]. The documents furnished show that
the Corpomedios GV Inversiones C.A. holds 100% of the shares of the company Globovisión
Tele C.A. […]. In turn, the company Corpomedios GV holds 60% of the shares in UNITEL de
Venezuela C.A., Half of 40% of the remaining shares belong to Sociedad Mercantil Sindicato
Avila, C.A. [20%] and the other half to Sociedad Mercantil DNS Inversiones 2000, C.A. [20%].
Meanwhile, at May 15, 2000, UNITEL de Venezuela C.A. was constituted by the shareholders
Guillermo Antonio Zuloaga Núñez, who holds 66% of the shares, and Alberto Federico Ravell,
who holds 17% of the shares, while Montferrat S.A. holds the remaining 17% of the shares
[…]. On January 3, 2005, the share capital of UNITEL de Venezuela, C.A. was increased but
101
Case of Granier et al. (Radio Caracas Televisión) v. Venezuela, para. 355.
102
Case of Granier et al. (Radio Caracas Televisión) v. Venezuela, para. 355.
103
Case of Granier et al. (Radio Caracas Televisión) v. Venezuela, para. 356.
104
Case of Perozo et al. v. Venezuela, para. 401.
105
Regarding the percentage of shares of each shareholder, see, para. 65 of the judgment.
106
Case of Perozo et al. v. Venezuela, para. 401.
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