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271. In this chapter, the Court will analyze the alleged violations of Articles 8(1) and 25(1) of the
American Convention and the supposed failure to comply with the obligations established in
paragraphs (b), (c), (f) and (g) of Article 7 of the Convention of Belém do Pará. It will also address
the arguments relating to the supposed discrimination in access to justice based on gender and
economic status, in the terms of Article 1(1) of the American Convention. In addition, it will consider
the arguments of the representative in relation to Article 25(2)(a) of the American Convention,
regarding the obligation to ensure that the competent authority established by the laws of the State
will determine the rights of everyone who files a remedy (supra para. 49).
A.
Arguments of the parties and of the Commission
A.1
Arguments on access to justice
272. The Commission recalled that the criminal proceedings “went on for four years without a
final judgment being handed down on the merits of the case.” The Commission also underlined that,
during the proceedings two judgments were handed down that explicitly recognized that during the
trial process various procedural errors and delays had taken place that can be attributed to the organs
responsible administering justice, as a result of which the criminal proceedings were declared to have
extinguished and the case was archived. The Commission considered that “the way the Judiciary
acted was ineffective, because the procedural defects and unwarranted delays verified during the
criminal proceedings, as a result of which the criminal action was declared to have extinguished,
resulted in a denial of justice for I.V., depriving her of her right to judicial determination of
responsibilities derived from the human rights violation to which she had been subjected and to
reparation for the harm done.” Consequently, the Commission concluded that “the State, through
the actions of the Judiciary and its health care system, violated I.V.’s right of access to justice and
her right to judicial guarantees and judicial protection in violation of Articles 8(1) and 25(1) of the
American Convention, in conjunction with the obligation not to discriminate established in Article
1(1) of this instrument”.
273. In its final observations, the Commission argued that, in cases related to human rights
violations as a result of a medical procedure, an investigation should be conducted with due diligence,
with the proper guarantees and within a reasonable time. Regarding due diligence in the conduct of
the criminal proceedings, the Commission indicated that, during the years it lasted, numerous
procedural defects and errors occurred, and also additional delays to establish a court with lay judges
and due to the filing of the case far from where the facts had occurred and from I.V.’s places of
residence, hampering the participation of victim, expert witnesses and witnesses. According to the
Commission, these flaws and delays not only resulted in the ineffectiveness of the investigation, but
also the extinction of the criminal proceedings, preventing I.V. from being able to have recourse to
civil proceedings to obtain reparation because, according to the information available, domestic law
subordinated this possibility to the existence of a guilty verdict. This situation engaged the
international responsibility of the State of Bolivia under Articles 8 and 25 of the Convention and 7 of
the Convention of Belém do Pará.
b. apply due diligence to prevent, investigate and impose penalties for violence against women;
c. include in their domestic legislation penal, civil, administrative and any other type of provisions that may be needed
to prevent, punish and eradicate violence against women and to adopt appropriate administrative measures where
necessary;
[…]
f. establish fair and effective legal procedures for women who have been subjected to violence which include, among
others, protective measures, a timely hearing and effective access to such procedures;
g. establish the necessary legal and administrative mechanisms to ensure that women subjected to violence have
effective access to restitution, reparations or other just and effective remedies.