70
that the principle of effectiveness (effet utile) cuts across the protection due to all the rights
recognized in the Convention, the Court considers, as it has on other occasions, 260 that in
application of the iura novit curia principle - which is repeatedly validated by international case
law inasmuch as the judge has the authority, and even the obligation, to apply the pertinent
legal provisions in a case, even when it is not expressly invoked by the parties - 261 it is
appropriate to assess the arguments related to the effectiveness of the habeas corpus actions in
relation to the aforementioned provision, and not in relation to Article 25 of the Convention, as
argued by the representatives and the Commission. 262
232. The Court has considered that the habeas corpus remedy, or the presentation of the
person, is the ideal measure to ensure liberty, monitor respect for life and personal integrity,
and prevent an individual’s disappearance or uncertainty about his place of detention. 263 In this
regard, the Court’s case law has established that these remedies should not only exist formally
in law, but should also be effective. 264 The Court has also specified that to be effective, the habeas
corpus remedy must fulfill the objective of obtaining, without delay, a decision on the lawfulness
of the arrest or the detention. 265
233. In the instant case, on July 22, 1991, that is, four days after Alejandro Huamaní filed the
writ of habeas corpus, the Examining Magistrate’s Court of Huancavelica issued a decision declaring
the petition inadmissible since, “from the inquiries made and the statements received from the
departments of the Security Police, General Police, Technical Police and from the Military Base and
the Political-Military Command, the detention of the citizen Elihoref Huamaní Vergara has not been
proven to have actually occurred, and therefore the complaint has no factual basis.” 266
234. In this regard, the Court recalls that one of the characteristic elements of forced
disappearance is “the refusal to acknowledge the detention and to reveal the fate or whereabouts
of the person concerned.” 267 Thus, the mere formal verification of the official detainee records,
as occurred in this case, or the acceptance as true of the denial of the detention by those
presumably responsible, without an objective, impartial and independent verification, is neither
reasonable nor diligent and does not constitute an effective remedy. 268 In this case, the
aforementioned decision does not include the “verification” that would have been carried out by
the Examining Magistrate’s Court of Huancavelica, beyond the statements received from members
of the army and the police, in order to confirm that the alleged detention took place. Furthermore,
the Court notes that the Examining Magistrate who rejected the petition had been present during
the removal of the bodies in the “Misteriosa” or “Vallarón” mine four days earlier, on July 18,
1991. 269 Although this removal procedure was carried out on the basis of the complaint filed by
the “president and prosecutor of the community of Santa Bárbara before the Public Prosecutor’s
Office” which referred only to 14 victims, without mentioning Elihoref Huamaní Vergara, it is also
Cf. Case of Anzualdo Castro v. Peru, supra, para. 77, and Case of Rochac Hernández et al. v. El Salvador, supra,
para. 162.
261
Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras. Merits, supra, para. 163, and Case of Rochac Hernández et al. v. El
Salvador, supra, para. 162.
262
Cf. Case of Rochac Hernández et al. v. El Salvador, supra, para. 162.
263
Cf. Habeas Corpus under Suspension of Guarantees (arts. 27(2), 25(1) and 7(6) of the American Convention on
Human Rights). Advisory Opinion OC-8/87, supra, para. 35, and Case of Rochac Hernández et al. v. El Salvador, supra, para.
162.
264
Cf. Case of Vélez Loor v. Panama, supra, para. 129, and Case of Rochac Hernández et al. v. El Salvador, supra, para.
162.
265
Cf. Case of Acosta Calderón v. Ecuador, supra, para. 97, and Case of Wong Ho Wing v. Peru, supra, para. 281.
266
Cf. Order of the Examining Magistrate’s Court of Huancavelica of July 22, 1991 on the habeas corpus action filed on
July 18, 1991 (evidence file, folio 85).
267
Cf. Case of Gómez Palomino v. Peru, supra, para. 97, and Case of the Río Negro Massacres v. Guatemala, supra,
para. 115
268
Cf. Case of García and Family Members v. Guatemala, supra, para. 143.
269
Cf. Order of the Examining Magistrate’s Court of Huancavelica of July 22, 1991, regarding the habeas corpus action
filed on July 18, 1991 (evidence file, folio 85), and Official letter No. 0462-91-MP-FPM-HVCA of July 23, 1991, submitted by
the Huancavelica Mixed Provincial Prosecutor’s Office to the Senior Public Prosecutor of Huancavelica (evidence file, folio 56).
260