7 the truth. I am not questioning the reasons behind each specific acknowledgement. I would like to insist on the merits of the acknowledgement –which entails taking a step further beyond the denial of facts that are impossible to conceal or the defense of situations that cannot possibly be justified— and note that it does not prevent the facts from being known by the court or revealed to society. No such thing is possible if we take into consideration the well-established practice of holding public hearings at which witness accounts of the facts are heard –even if the focus is on reparations— and that of having the judgment include an account of the violations that are the source of reparations, notwithstanding the confession, acceptance or acknowledgement by the State; in other prosecutorial systems this might cause the proceeding to come to an early end by dismissal, with no account of facts that are no longer at issue and no witness testimony on events that nobody has denied. Sergio García-Ramírez Judge Pablo Saavedra Alessandri Secretary