Thus, the said provisions establish the full disclosure and publication of the Court’s
decisions, including its judgments. In addition, they stipulate the notification or the
communication of the judgments not only to the parties to the pertinent litigation, but also
to the States Parties to the Convention. And, finally, not only the parties and the States
Parties may request a copy of the judgment, but also the organs of the Organization of
American States, and even any interested person.
Hence, all the natural or legal persons indicated above have the right to know the
judgments in their entirety, particularly when the provisions that regulate them make no
mention of the Court’s authority to order the confidentiality or secrecy of part of them.
V. Safety concerns
Lastly, it should be considered that the “safety concerns” cited to justify and to obtain the
requested confidentiality were not explained and do not appear in the proceedings, so that,
by allowing this confidentiality, the Court may be granting the public a certain margin of
doubt with regard to the discretionary nature of its decisions, which thus could, instead, be
perceived as arbitrary.
Judge Eduardo Vio Grossi
Pablo Saavedra Alessandri
Secretary
hearings, through the appropriate means; (d) any other document that the Court considers suitable for publication.
2. Judgments shall be published in the working languages used in each case. All other documents shall be
published in their original language. 3. Documents submitted to the Secretariat of the Court that relate to cases
already adjudicated shall be made accessible to the public, unless the Court decides otherwise.” Also Art. 67(6) of
the Rules of Procedure: “The originals of the judgments shall be deposited in the archives of the Court. The
Secretary shall dispatch certified copies to the States Parties; the Commission; the victims or alleged victims, or
their representatives; the respondent State; the petitioning State, if applicable; the Permanent Council through its
Presidency; the Secretary General of the OAS, and any other interested person who requests them.”
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