68
217. As has been indicated on other occasions,226 when assessing the effectiveness of the
domestic recourse provided by the national contentious administrative courts, the Court must
decide whether the decisions effectively contributed to ending impunity, ensuring nonrepetition of the harmful acts and guaranteeing the free and full exercise of the rights
protected by the Convention.
218. In establishing the State’s international responsibility for the violation of the human
rights embodied in Articles 8(1) and 25 of the American Convention, a substantial element
of the dispute before the Court is not whether judgments were delivered or settlement
agreements reached concerning the administrative or civil responsibility of a State body in
relation to the violations committed to the detriment of the victims of human rights
violations or their next of kin, but rather whether the domestic proceedings ensured full
judicial access, pursuant to the standards set forth in the American Convention.227
219. In the cases of the Ituango Massacres, the Pueblo Bello Massacre and the Mapiripán
Massacre, all three against Colombia, the Court found that the comprehensive reparation of
the violation of a right protected by the Convention cannot be reduced to the payment of
compensation to the next of kin of the victim.228 The Court indicated that the compensations
established in the contentious administrative proceedings could be considered when
establishing the pertinent reparations, “on condition that the decisions taken in those
proceedings are considered res judicata and are reasonable, considering the circumstances of
the case.”229
220. The Court has indicated that, in cases of human rights violations, the State has the
duty to provide reparations. This duty implies that while the victims or their next of kin
should have ample opportunity to seek just compensation under domestic law, the State’s
obligation cannot rest exclusively on their procedural initiative or on the submission of
probative elements by private individuals. Thus, in the terms of the obligation to provide
reparation that arises from a violation of the Convention (infra para. 226), the contentious
administrative proceedings do not constitute per se an effective and adequate recourse to
redress such violations comprehensively.230
221. Adequate redress, understood within the framework of the Convention, includes
measures of rehabilitation and satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition. The Court has
indicated that recourse such as the action for direct reparation or the action for annulment and
re-establishment of a right have a very limited scope and include some conditions of access
that are not appropriate with regard to the reparation objectives established in the American
Convention. The Court has indicated that the judgment of a judicial authority in a contentious
226
Cf. Case of the Mapiripán Massacres, supra note 12, para. 210. In the same sense, see Case of the
Ituango Massacres, supra note 15, para. 338; and Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre, supra note 12, para. 206.
227
Cf. Case of the Mapiripán Massacres, supra note 12, para. 211. In the same sense, see Case of the
Ituango Massacres, supra note 15, para. 339; and Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre, supra note 12, para. 206.
228
Cf. Case of the Mapiripán Massacres, supra note 12, para. 214. In the same sense, see Case of the
Ituango Massacres, supra note 15, para. 339; and Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre, supra note 12, para. 206
229
Cf. Case of the Mapiripán Massacres, supra note 12, para. 214. In the same sense, see Case of the
Ituango Massacres, supra note 15, para. 339; and Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre, supra note 12, para. 206
230
Cf. Case of the Ituango Massacres, supra note 15, para. 340; and Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre,
supra note 12, para. 209.
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