27
b)
GROUNDS FOR THE STATE´S DUTIES WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE STATE´S
LIABILITY RESULTING FROM THE VIOLATION OF THE AMERICAN CONVENTION
82.
Once the scope of the partial acknowledgement of liability by the State has
been established, the Court deems it necessary, in accordance with the facts set
forth in the instant case, the evidence tendered, and the pleadings submitted by the
parties, to determine the grounds for the State´s duties within the framework of the
State´s liability resulting from the violations of the rights enshrined in the American
Convention.
83.
Within the scope of the foregoing Convention, the duties set forth in Articles
1(1) and 2 provide the grounds for determining the international liability of the
State. Article 1(1) of the Convention places on the State Parties to the Convention
the fundamental duties to respect and guarantee the rights, so that the impairment
of the human rights recognized by the Convention which, pursuant to the
international legal standards, may be attributed to the action or failure to act by any
public official, is an act attributable to the State which entails its liability under the
terms of the Convention. In turn, the general duty set forth in Article 2 of the
American Convention implies the adoption of measures in two directions. On the one
hand, the suppression of any rules and practices which entail the violation of the
guarantees set forth in the Convention, and, on the other, the issuance of norms and
the development of practices which aim at the effective compliance with such
guarantees.24
84.
Any form of exercise of the State power which violates rights recognized by
the Convention is unlawful. In this regard, under any circumstance in which a State
body or official or a public institution unduly impairs one of such rights, either as the
result of an act or failure to act,25 there is an alleged non-compliance of the duty to
respect the rights enshrined in Article 1(1) of the Convention.
85.
The Court has further established that the State´s liability may also result
from acts committed by private individuals which, in principle, are not attributable to
the State. The effects of the duties erga omnes of the States to respect and guarantee
protection norms and to ensure the effectiveness of rights go beyond the relationship
between their agents and the individuals under the jurisdiction thereof, since they
are embodied in the positive duty of the State to adopt such measures as may be
necessary to ensure the effective protection of human rights in inter-individual
relationships.26
86.
The assumptions of the State´s liability for the violation of rights enshrined in
the Convention may include both the acts or the failure to act attributable to State
bodies or officials, as well as the failure of the State to prevent third parties from
Cf. Case of Gómez-Palomino, supra note 21, para. 91; Case of the Mapiripán Massacre, supra
note 21, para. 109; and Case of Lori Berenson-Mejía. Judgment of November 25, 2004. Series C No. 119,
para. 219.
24
Cf. Case of Baldeón-García, supra note 4, para. 81; Case of Pueblo Bello Massacre. Judgment of
January 31, 2006. Series C No. 140, paras. 111 and 112; and Case of the Mapiripán Massacre, supra note
21, para. 110.
25
Cf. Case of Pueblo Bello Massacre, supra note 25, para. 113; Case of the Mapiripán Massacre,
supra note 21, para. 111; and Juridical Condition and Rights of the Undocumented Migrants. Advisory
Opinion OC-18/03 of September 17, 2003. Series A No. 18, para. 140.
26