-27related to determining the judge, bearing in mind that for approximately one year the case
was heard by two different jurisdictions (ordinary and military); iii) on various occasions, the
prosecutor requested extensions for pursuing different procedures, which were granted
except on one occasion; iv) the closing of the case due to the application of the amnesty law,
the proceedings lasted approximately seven years; v) the arrest of the accused, and vi) the
length of time to pay the reparations. The Court shall now refer to each of these elements in
the order established above.
i.
The opening of the criminal committal proceedings
107. The Court notes that the record shows that the Office of the General Prosecutor
received the complaint of the CNDDHH on August 12, 1994 and that, on November 2, 1994,
the Provincial Prosecutor filed a criminal charge before the 27th Criminal Court of Lima against
the accused. On November 25, that court opened committal proceedings. The record also
shows that there was a delay of more than three months in opening the criminal committal
proceedings that would not, per se, be considered a lack of a reasonable time. In addition,
the evidence indicates that there were certain procedures discharged during this period.
ii.
The competent judge and the military jurisdiction
108. On August 10, 1994, a complaint on the incident was filed to the President of the War
Council and, on August 12, 1994, the Office of the General Prosecutor received the complaint
of the CNDDHH (supra para. 39). On August 31, 1994, the War Council opened criminal
proceedings and ordered that the dispute on jurisdiction be discussed with the ordinary
criminal jurisdiction. On November 25, 1994, the Criminal Court opened criminal proceedings
and on the 24th of the month, the Military Court asked the Criminal Court to recuse itself
from hearing the case (supra para. 43). On June 20, 1995, the Supreme Council of Military
Justice ordered, inter alia, the definitive closing of the case (supra para. 52). On September
11, 1995, the Criminal Court also ordered the definitive closing of its case by applying the
amnesty law and, approximately three months after the case had been closed, the same court
denied the request of recusal of the Military Court on the grounds that it was a question of
homicide (supra paras. 44 and 59).
109. The Court notes that the Commission and the representatives alleged a violation of
the right to a natural or competent judge. The Court considers that it is not necessary to
examine that allegation since the proceedings against the perpetrator of the incident in the
military jurisdiction lasted less than a year and that at the reopening of the case he was only
tried by the ordinary jurisdiction, which convicted him. Therefore, the only issue to analyze is
the impact on the reasonable time of the proceedings caused by the fact that, for a certain
period, the case was being heard under both the military and the ordinary jurisdictions.119
110. The Court holds that the evidence does not show that the fact that the accused, during
a period of less than a year, was simultaneously investigated by the military and the ordinary
jurisdiction, contributed to the delay of the proceedings. It also notes that certain procedures
were advanced in both jurisdictions, but that this did not obstruct either of the proceedings.
In addition, the military jurisdiction never reopened the file after its closing due to the
application of the amnesty law and, thus, the co-existence of the case in two jurisdictions was
not a factor during the rest of the proceedings. Consequently, the Court does not consider
that the hearing of the case by the military jurisdiction for a certain period would have resulted
Cf. Case of the Santo Domingo Massacre v. Colombia. Preliminary Objections, Merits and Reparations.
Judgment of November 30, 2012. Series C No. 259, paras. 158 and 159.
119