240. The suitability of a conciliation agreement in cases with similar characteristics to
this one would be that it constituted an adequate and prompt remedy to protect the
legal situation that was infringed; in other words, to resolve the existing conflict and
free the territory of the Punta Piedra community of encumbrances, thereby to achieve
a reasonable result with the consent of the parties. 258
241. Moreover, the Court has indicated that “[a] remedy must also be effective –
that is, capable of producing the result for which it was conceived.” 259 In this respect,
the commitments adopted in this case had the potential or capacity to produce the
result for which they were conceived; that is, to make the corresponding appraisals, to
pay for the useful improvements and, if applicable, to relocate the inhabitants of Rio
Miel. Indeed, under the 2001 undertaking, the Honduran State, the Punta Piedra
community and the Rio Miel community agreed to this (supra paras. 113 and 114).
Therefore, by making those commitments, the State did not merely act as a mediator,
but also acted as a party bound by them.
242. The establishment of a conciliation mechanism, in the absence of any other
suitable and effective mechanism for this specific case, meant the establishment of an
accessible, straightforward, potentially rapid and simple ad hoc remedy with the direct
participation of the indigenous people resulting in the adoption of specific binding
agreements with the potential or capacity to produce the result for which they were
conceived; in other words, to resolve the existing conflict and free the territory of
Punta Piedra community of encumbrances. Therefore, the Court considers that the
conciliation mechanism was adequate and suitable for this case. However, the Court
notes that, in practice, the said agreements were not executed – mainly by the State –
and, therefore, the conciliation mechanism turned out to be an ineffective remedy.
Indeed, the Court has indicated that an effective remedy may become ineffective if it is
subordinated to procedural requirements that make it inapplicable, or if it is powerless
to obligate the authorities. 260 The Court will now rule on this matter.
B.1.1.1 The guarantee of compliance with decisions that consider
the remedy admissible (Article 25(2)(c) of the American
Convention)
243. The Court notes that it was the Honduran State itself that referred to the 2001
undertaking as an “out-of-court conciliation” and indicated that “the conciliation
agreement reach[ed] by the parties had the effects of res judicata and enforceability,” 261
258
The United Nations Development Programme has indicated that access to justice must not be
limited to obtaining a remedy through formal institutions of justice; rather access to justice is a process that
needs to be adapted to a particular context so that the process enables people to claim and obtain a fair
solution. Moreover, it is of great importance that the existing remedies, including dispute resolution
mechanisms, are effective and in conformity with human rights standards [including the standards of Articles
8 and 25 of the American Convention]. Cf. UNDP: Programming for Justice: Access for All. A Practitioner’s
Guide to a Human Rights-Based Approach to Access to Justice, 2005. Available at:
https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/files/Justice_Guides_ProgrammingForJustice-AccessForAll.pdf.
259
Case of Velásquez Rodríguez, Merits, supra, para. 66, and Case of the Human Rights Defender et
al., supra, para. 157.
260
Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez, Merits, supra, para. 66 and Case of Brewer Carias, supra, para.
87.
261
Cf. Briefs submitted by the State to the Commission, received on March 31, August 19 and October
28, 2004 (evidence file, folios 428 to 430, 355 to 358 and 324 to 326, respectively). In the brief dated
August 19, 2004, the State referred to article 4 of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, which provides that
“[t]he agreement reached by the parties by conciliation shall have the nature of res judicata and
enforceability with the same effects as a final judgment”.
69