of a reparation that an intrusion may imply for the victims and their families fades as
time goes on. 58 Therefore, the failure of the State regarding the implementation of
this measure of reparation is not related to the acknowledgment of responsibility in
this case.
45.
Given the foregoing, the Court concludes that the judicial authorities, when
reviewing whether to apply the statute of limitations to the crime of torture, given its
severity, should declare the applicability of the statute of limitations, where
applicable, only after an investigation has been carried out with due diligence. This
standard does not imply that the Court is unaware of the scope and importance of
the procedural institution of the statute of limitations, which in some countries in the
region is recognized as a guarantee of the defendant. The Court considers that, as a
general rule, the procedural institution that is the statute of limitations must be
applied when it so corresponds, unless, as in this case, there is a clear lack of due
diligence in the investigation and, consequently, a denial of access to justice for a
victim of torture.
46.
Moreover, the Court notes that in this case, Argentine courts declared the
statute of limitations for the criminal action in 2003 and 2004 (supra Considering
clause 22) and an evaluation of it was underway by the Supreme Court of Justice,
without the State informing the Inter-American Court of this situation when it issued
the Judgment. To the extent that this was contrary to the acknowledgment of
international responsibility effectuated by the State, this information should have
been provided to the Court at that time. In this regard, the Court recalls that,
pursuant to international law, the State cannot invoke during the monitoring of
compliance stage, a fact in its favor that it knew of and should have diligently
reported to the Court. In addition, subsequent to the Judgment, in 2007, the State
rendered a decision by the Supreme Court of Justice (supra Considering clause 23
and 24), which is unrelated to the acknowledgment of responsibility, to the
commitment to investigate assumed by the State before the Court, and to the
Judgment issued by this Court. All these elements, combined with the failure to
investigate the torture that took place with due diligence, justify the Court’s decision
to maintain the order to investigate issued in the Judgment.
47.
Moreover, the Court awaits more information about the processes mentioned
by the representative (supra Considering clause 25) with respect to the obstacles in
the investigation related to the alleged threats (claim No. 25156) and alleged
disappearance and destruction of evidence (claim No. 61720). In this regard, a
request is made for the State to provide, in the period specified in the operative
paragraphs of this Order, complete and detailed information about all processes and
investigations initiated in relation to the facts of this case.
C.
Publication of the Judgment (operative paragraph nine of the
Judgment)
48.
The State reported that the relevant parts of the Judgment were published in
the Official Bulletin No. No. 31.486 on September 10, 2008, and in the newspaper,
“La Prensa” on September 25, 2008, and it provided a copy of these publications.
58
Cf. Case of Molina-Theissen v. Guatemala. Monitoring Compliance with Judgments. Order of the
President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of August 17, 2009., Considering 18.
19