42.
With regard to the representatives’ arguments regarding the family members of the
victims who are not included in the Judgment, this Court reiterates the comments made in
the Order of July 8, 2009, that “it is not appropriate to reopen the stage on merits and
reparations,” which included as family members and beneficiaries of the victims those
individuals indicated as such by the Inter-American Commission, based on the information
provided during the international proceeding, as well as those identified based on the
evidence provided to the Court and included in the relevant chapter on beneficiaries to
receive compensation. The Court recalls that the Judgment only left open the possibility that
the family members of three of the victims could be subsequently identified, since the Court
did not have the necessary information to identify them at the time when the Judgment was
issued. Once again, the Court points out that the family members identified by the
representatives are not related to these three victims. Consequently, the Court takes note
that these persons have approached the competent Colombian authorities to demand what
they believe to be their rights in relation to the victims in this case, but advises that it will
not monitor these proceedings or their results in the context of monitoring compliance with
the Judgment.
43.
Furthermore, the Court recalls that in its last Order it established that “before
considering that this point has been satisfied, […] it deem[ed] it pertinent to require
detailed information” regarding: (i) the alleged incorrect distribution of the indemnities
distributed by the Attorney General’s Office in the event of the death of some of the
beneficiaries, and (ii) an alleged error in the payment made to Mrs. Myriam Mantilla
Sánchez. In this regard, the Court notes that neither the State nor the representatives have
provided information on this situation. However, contrary to the State’s assertion, its
obligation to report to the Court on this matter did not depend on the representatives
submitting additional observations related to this measure of reparation. According to the
aforementioned Order, the State should review the payment made to Mrs. Myriam Mantilla
Sánchez and, if appropriate, grant her the amount due. Otherwise it should provide the
Court with a relevant explanation and submit the documents supporting compliance with the
payment ordered in the Judgment, taking into account the observations already presented
by the representatives on the matter, prior to the Order of July 200924. Likewise, with
regard to the compensation paid by the Attorney General’s Office, it is up to the State to
ascertain and inform the Court whether the payments distributed by that body are
consistent with the criteria and terms established in paragraphs 230 and 231 of the
Judgment.
44.
In view of the foregoing, the Court reiterates that this point is still pending
compliance and considers it necessary that the State submit detailed and complete
information on the aspects queried or noted by the representatives in relation to the
payments made by the Attorney General’s Office and the payment made to Mrs. Myriam
Mantilla Sánchez, which are pending evaluation and appraisal by this Court. Likewise, taking
into account the comments made by the State, the Court considers it appropriate to require
the representatives, in presenting their observations to the State’s report (infra Operative
paragraph 3), to refer in detail to the two aforementioned matters pending evaluation by
the Court. In particular, the Court requests that the representatives indicate whether the
errors mentioned in the payment of the indemnities have been corrected or, if applicable,
how these could be corrected and the actions required to remedy the situation.
24
Cf. Case of 19 Tradesmen v. Colombia. Monitoring Compliance with Judgment. Order of the Court of July
8, 2009, considering paragraph 58.
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