19.
The Commission expressed its satisfaction for the State’s acknowledgement of
responsibility and for the willingness of the parties to enter into the Agreement. In this
regard, it observed that “the dispute about the facts, the violations, the family members
acknowledged to be victims, and the correlative existence of an obligation to make
reparation to those family members, has ceased.” Despite this, it considered that it was
“necessary to deliver a detailed judgment, […] to respond to the objectives of interAmerican justice; specifically, the reparatory effects for the family of Jorge Omar Gutiérrez
and the judicial clarification of the violations that occurred; but also because the parties and
the Commission have agreed to request the Court to make a ruling that facilitates the
effective implementation of the reparations.” In this regard, it indicated that “[the]
appropriate determination of the facts and their legal characterization was inextricably
related to the implications of the obligation to investigate and punish those responsible, and
to halt the impunity in the very particular procedural circumstances of the investigation at
the domestic level.” It also underscored that the Agreement “includes a general clause on
the application of Article 63(1) of the American Convention,” therefore, “it does not exclude
other measures of non-repetition or of satisfaction that the Court may order in the exercise
of its competence and in accordance with the inter-American standards in this regard.”
20.
The representatives appreciated the acknowledgement of responsibility made by the
State. Nevertheless, they indicated that there were no arguments in their pleadings and
motions brief that attempted to assimilate the facts of the case to situations of a systematic
nature, but rather they had referred to “institutional structural deficiencies (in the provincial
system of justice and in the functioning of the police forces involved) that facilitated the
irregularities and intrigues that permitted, established and perpetuated up until today, the
corporate concealment and impunity of the murder committed by State agents involved in a
criminal network.” On this point, they argued that “[w]hat the State is seeking to ignore is
precisely this dimension of the case, directly related to the alleged violations and the
measures of non-repetition requested.” They also differed from the State’s position in the
sense that “measures aimed at reversing certain elements – even though the latter are the
result of normative limitations or institutional practices that require wide-ranging measures
– cannot be ordered in a […] specific case being litigated.” In addition, the representatives
reiterated their pecuniary claims and stated that they were “convinced of the validity of
[their] demands.” Also, in their final written arguments, the representatives emphasized
that the parties had signed the Agreement in the understanding that, thereby, they would
contribute to the work of the Court by identifying measures “that should be adopted on the
path towards integral reparation”; in other words, “the Agreement does not seek to be
exhaustive as regards the reparations that have been determined in the case.”
Consequently, and with reference to Article 63 of the Convention, in the said Agreement the
parties indicated “their intention that the Court establish, in addition to the measures
already agreed on, [the] reparations that it considers pertinent.”
B. Considerations of the Court
21.
In accordance with Articles 62 to 64 of the Rules of Procedure 5 and in exercise of its
powers concerning the international judicial protection of human rights, a matter that goes
5
Articles 62, 63 and 64 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court stipulate:
Article 62. Acquiescence
If the respondent informs the Court of its acceptance of the facts or its total or partial acquiescence to the
claims stated in the presentation of the case or the brief submitted by the alleged victims or their
representatives, the Court shall decide, having heard the opinions of all those participating in the
proceedings and at the appropriate procedural moment, whether to accept that acquiescence, and shall rule
upon its juridical effects.
10