A. Injured party
159. Pursuant to Article 63(1) of the Convention, this Court reiterates that it considers as
injured party anyone who has been declared a victim of the violation of any right recognized
therein. Therefore, this Court considers Carlos Baraona Bray as the “injured party.”
B. Measures of restitution
160. The Commission requested that the State be ordered to annul the criminal conviction
against Carlos Baraona Bray, as well as all the consequences derived therefrom. The
representatives requested that all records of the criminal proceedings against the victim be
expunged.
161. The State argued that said measure is inadmissible, since from the background
certificate that has been offered as evidence, it is clear that Mr. Baraona has no criminal
record whatsoever. It emphasized that this document is suitable and legally valid to know
whether a person has been convicted of a crime or a simple offense, or for the misdemeanors
contemplated by law. According to Chilean law, Mr. Baraona cannot be considered a recidivist,
either for crimes of the same nature or of a different type. Furthermore, it pointed out that
it would be inappropriate to annul the criminal conviction imposed on Mr. Baraona Bray, since
the case was definitively dismissed. The conviction in the case under discussion lost all its
effects from the moment that Article 398 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was applied. In
addition, since the dismissal was issued, the criminal proceedings for the crime of slander
were irrevocably terminated.
162. The Court notes that both the representatives in their arguments and the victim at
the public hearing, affirmed that it is possible for any person to access the lawsuits filed
against him in the case search registry of the Virtual Judicial Office, through the Judicial
Branch portal. In this regard, the representatives pointed out that the Chilean legal system
establishes rules of disclosure of judicial proceedings,182 with the exception of proceedings
that are kept confidential, such as those involving family matters. Article 2(c), final paragraph
of Law No. 20.886, in general, establishes that judicial cases are accessible to the public
through an online platform provided by the Judiciary.183 In this regard, the State explained
that in order to consult cases, it is necessary to have certain precise background information
to identify the case to be reviewed.184 It added that the criminal record containing Mr.
Baraona’s conviction is not easily accessible via a search on the website of the Chilean
Judiciary, given that, as of April 1, 2015,185 the Supreme Court of Chile annulled judicial cases
filed under the unique taxpayer identification number (hereinafter “RUT”)] in order to protect
the privacy of individuals who are parties to civil, criminal and labor proceedings conducted
182
Law No. 20.886, Article 2(c) final paragraph, states: “Search of cases. The Judiciary shall make available to
the public, in its internet portal, a case search system that guarantees full access by all persons to the electronic file
in conditions of equality.”
183
According to the representatives, information on judicial proceedings is treated as public under the legal
mandate granted to the judicial archivists and the certifying officer of the corresponding record, according to the
provisions of Article 453 and following articles of the Organic Code of the Courts. The publication of judicial
proceedings is a legal mandate that even the Supreme Court itself has provided for in Resolution No. 85-2019, which
establishes the Consolidated Text of the Order for the application of Law No. 20.886 in the Judiciary.
184
Such as: jurisdiction of the court, jurisdiction to which the court belongs, court in which the case is located,
and the file number and year of the case. In addition, it is possible to search using other information, such as the
name of the parties to the case (natural or legal person), the date on which the case was filed in the court, or the
unique tax identification number (RUT) of the legal person that is a party to the case.
185
Record
No.
72-2009
of
the
Plenary
of
the
Supreme
Court,
available
at:
https://wwwpjud.cl/institutional/download/1506
47