under the American Convention that, if proven, could constitute
violations of Articles 1.(1), 2, 8 and 25 of the Convention. The
petitioners also allege violations of Articles 4, 5, 7, 24 and 63 (1) of the
American Convention, but offered no arguments or evidence to
substantiate such violations. Specifically, the petitioners allege the
denial of justice in the fact that in 2003 the Chilean Supreme Court, on
grounds of statutory limitations, denied their application for
compensation for mental suffering occasioned by the alleged arbitrary
arrest and execution of Mr. Augusto Alcayaga Aldunate by State agents.
They argue that the Chilean judicial system has systematically applied
statutory limitations to deny judicial action seeking reparation for
damages caused in the area of human rights.
23.
The principal argument presented in the response by the
State on February 18, 2005 is that Chile is not responsible, under the
American Convention, for violations allegedly committed during the
period between September 11, 1973 and March 11, 1990. The
Commission considers that in the case at hand the allegations refer only
to the judgments handed down by the Chilean courts between 1999 and
2003, when the Convention was already in effect for Chile. As to the
State's argument that the Commission should declare the petition
inadmissible because origin of the events took place prior to March 11,
1990, the Commission rejects this argument because the judicial
proceedings constitute events independent of the summary executions.
The Commission bases this conclusion on the judgment of November 23,
2004 in the case of the Sisters Serrano Cruz vs. El Salvador, in which
the Inter-American Court held:
84.
The Court considers that the events that occurred after
recognition of the Court's jurisdiction by El Salvador, referring to
the alleged violations of Articles 8 and 25 of the Convention in
relation with Article 1.thereof, are not excluded by the limitation
imposed by the State, because what is at issue are judicial
decisions constituting independent events that began after El
Salvador's recognition of the Court's jurisdiction, and that could
constitute specific and independent instances of the denial of
justice occurring after recognition of the Court's jurisdiction.
24.
In the case at hand, as in the Sisters Serrano Cruz case, the
petitioners have alleged a violation of due process, in particular, that the
State applied the statute of limitations, under private international law,
in order to deny justice, i.e. the possibility of reparations for an
international crime committed by State agents. Despite the fact that the
violations of due process could not have occurred without the predicate
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