228. Based on the circumstances of the case and the more than twenty-five year delay in paying
a debt that originated in the 1980s, this Court finds that moral injury accrued to the 846 victims
in the case. It therefore orders the State to pay, in equity, USD 5,000.00 (five thousand United
States dollars) to each victim listed in Annex 1 in nonpecuniary damages.
G.
Costs and expenses
229. The representatives asked for reimbursement of the court costs and attorney fees
incurred in the case, including costs for expert opinions, copies of material from judicial case files,
domestic and international travel for the legal teams and other declarants, and statements taken
by affidavit at the different stages of the inter-American proceedings. The representatives
submitted, along with their final pleadings, the contracts with expert witnesses. However, they
did not submit invoices or any documentation indicating that the amounts contracted were in fact
the amounts paid. They are therefore found not to have submitted proof of actual disbursements.
230. The Court has stated that court costs and attorney fees are part of the concept of reparation
in all cases in which the efforts of the victims in seeking justice, both nationally and internationally,
entail expenditures that must be compensated for when the Court judges the State to be
internationally responsible. With respect to reimbursement for these costs and fees, it is the
Court’s responsibility to prudently assess their scope, which includes expenses incurred before
domestic legal authorities, as well as those incurred in the course of the proceedings before the
inter-American system, keeping in mind the circumstances of the specific case and the nature of
international jurisdiction for the protection of human rights. This assessment can be done on the
basis of the principle of equity and taking into consideration the expenses declared by the parties,
provided the amounts are reasonable.457
231. The case file contains no evidence of the costs and expenses incurred by the representatives
of the victims in processing the case before the inter-American system. The Court believes,
however, that such processes inevitably require monetary outlays, and therefore holds that the
State must pay Giampiero Fava Cohen, Ciro Colombara López and Alexandra Orrego Da Silva
USD 10,000.00 (ten thousand United States dollars) each, for court costs and attorney fees. The
Court may also order the State to further reimburse the victims or their representatives for
reasonable expenses incurred during the procedural stage of monitoring compliance with this
judgment.458
H.
Method of compliance with the payments ordered
232. The payment of the amounts granted by this judgment as restitution must be disbursed
directly to the people whose names are listed in Annex 1 in three annual installments, the first to
be paid within one year of notification of this judgment. The amounts of these installments should
be calculated on the basis of the amounts given in Annex 2, to be updated to the date of payment
according to the readjusted CPI calculated by the National Bureau of Statistics from July 31, 2020
through the time when payment is actually made, and the maximum allowable interest rate for
readjustable operations as of that same date, based on the provisions of Article 63 of the Labor
is not enough (videotaped statement rendered by Ramuna Ilufi Luna, attached to the pleadings and motions brief,
Annex 04, evidence 12).
457
Cf. Case of Garrido and Baigorria v. Argentina. Reparations and Costs. Judgment of August 27, 1998. Series
C No. 39, para. 82, and Case of Vera Rojas et al. v. Chile, supra, para. 185.
458
Cf. Cfr. Case of Ibsen Cárdenas and Ibsen Peña v. Bolivia. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of
September 1, 2010. Series C No. 217, para. 291, and Case of Vera Rojas et al. v. Chile, supra, para. 186.
72
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