proceedings. These include the complexity of the evidence, 300 the number of procedural
subjects301 or the number of victims,302 the time elapsed since the violation,303 the
characteristics of the remedies enshrined in the domestic body of law,304 and the context in
which the violation occurred.305
157. First, with regard to the characteristics or nature of the proceedings under
consideration, the Court does not find evidence in the domestic laws of Argentina that would
suggest that regular civil proceedings are complex per se. In particular, a regular judicial
process is governed by Article 319 of the National Civil Procedural and Commercial Code
(hereinafter “CPCCN”), which establishes the following: “General principle: all judicial
disputes that have no special processing indicated shall be discussed in a regular trial,
except when this Code authorizes the judge to determine the type of proceedings
applicable.” This means that the proceedings under which the case of Sebastián Furlan was
processed is the regular process in the civil sphere, hence in principle it does not have a
special process or nature.
158. Secondly, with regard to the number of procedural subjects or the number of
victims, the Court observes that in this specific case, in order to comply with the purpose of
the judicial proceedings, the court had to determine the damages caused to a single person,
specifically, Sebastián Furlan. With regard to the complexity of the evidence that needed to
be produced in the civil proceedings, the Court notes that, in general, proceedings on extracontractual liability tend to be more straightforward, considering that the main area of
discussion is demonstrating the causal link between the damages and the acts of the State,
a matter which required evidence certifying the ownership of the premises where the
accident occurred, and the state of neglect of those premises. Lastly, the Court notes that
the civil suit for damages was presented approximately one year and eleven months after
the accident occurred; thus, the amount of time that had elapsed between the event and
the filing of the judicial action was not significant.
159. Consequently, and bearing in mind the preceding points, the Court considers that the
case did not involve legal or evidentiary aspects or debates that would involve a degree of
complexity requiring almost 12 years to respond to. Therefore, the delay in the
development and execution of the civil suit for damages in the instant case cannot be
justified based on the complexity of the matter.
300
Cf. inter alia, Case of Genie Lacayo v. Nicaragua, para. 78, and Case of Anzualdo Castro v. Peru.
Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of September 22, 2009. Series C No. 202, para.
157.
301
Cf. inter alia, Case of Acosta Calderón v. Ecuador. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of June 24,
2005. Series C No. 129, para. 106, and Case of López Álvarez v. Honduras. Merits, Reparations and Costs.
Judgment of February 1, 2006. Series C No. 14, para. 133.
302
Cf. inter alia, Case of Baldeón García v. Peru. para.152, Case of Vargas Areco v. Paraguay. Merits,
Reparations and Costs. Judgment of September 26, 2006. Series C No. 155, para. 103, and Case of Kawas
Fernández v. Honduras. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of April 3, 2009 Series C No. 196, para. 113.
303
Cf. inter alia, Case of Heliodoro Portugal v. Panama. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and
Costs. Judgment of August 12, 2008. Series C No. 186, para. 150, and Case of Radilla Pacheco v. Mexico.
Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 23, 2009. Series C No. 209, para.
245.
304
Cf. Case of Salvador Chiriboga v. Ecuador. Preliminary Objection and Merits. Judgment of May 6, 2008.
Series C No. 179, para. 83.
305
Cf. inter alia, Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre v. Colombia. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of
January 31, 2006. Series C No. 140, para. 184, Case of the Ituango Massacres v. Colombia. Preliminary Objection,
Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of July 1, 2006. Series C No. 148, para. 293, and Case of Valle Jaramillo
et al. v. Colombia, para. 156.
52
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