37
Mr. Vargas Rohrmoser to make good on the penalty imposed on the
newspaper “La Nación” in the November 12, 1999 judgment;
c)
the State had full knowledge of the April 3, 2001 decision from the
time it was delivered by one of its own courts; and
d)
Costa Rica cannot request that the April 3, 2001 decision be precluded
as that decision does not alter the facts; instead, it confirms them.
Pleadings of the alleged victims’ representatives
90.
Concerning the preliminary objection raised by the State alleging that a court
order involving Mr. Vargas Rohrmoser was introduced belatedly and indeed not
tangibly presented at all, the alleged victims’ representatives petitioned the Court to
reject each and every argument, based on the following reasoning:
a)
the April 3, 2001 court decision ordered enforcement of the judgment
that found Mr. Herrera Ulloa and the “La Nación” newspaper jointly and
severally liable, and dismissed the “petition seeking reversal and concomitant
nullification” filed by the alleged victims against the court order for execution
of judgment issued on February 21 of that year. The important thing is to
have presented the February order being challenged, which became final with
the order of April 3, 2001;
b)
the threat to Mr. Vargas Rohrmoser’s freedom “does not originate”
with the April 3, 2001 decision; it stems from that provision of the Penal Code
that describes the crime of contempt;
c)
there is no arguing the existence of the April 3, 2001 ruling,
irrespective of what was forwarded to the Court as an annex to the
Commission’s application. The State attempted to deny the very existence
and relevance of a court decision that it expressly included in its brief of
November 30, 2001; and
d)
all domestic remedies were pursued and exhausted in the case of Mr.
Vargas Rohrmoser, which is why the State’s objection has no valid foundation
in the law.
Considerations of the Court
91.
As for the alleged belated introduction of the April 3, 2001 order, the Court
finds that while it was indeed a court action that occurred after the petitioners had
filed their petition with the Commission on March 1, 2001 ((supra para. 6), it is still
part of the body of evidence in the present case (supra para. 68) and was introduced
in the course of the proceedings with the inter-American system for the protection of
human rights. On May 10, 2001, when provisional measures on Mr. Mauricio Herrera
Ulloa’s behalf were requested, a copy of that court order was presented. It should
be recalled that the body of evidence in a case is unique and indivisible and is
composed of the evidence submitted during all stages of the proceeding, 31 so the
31
Cf. Case of Myrna Mack-Chang, supra note 7, para. 129; Case of Bulacio, supra note 7, para. 68;
and Case of Juan Humberto Sánchez, supra note 20, para. 60.
Seleccionar párrafo de destino3
Conectar a un párrafo
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Añadir a la tabla de contenidos