the State presented a “copy of the complete minutes” of the said meeting and a certification of
CONARE dated July 10, 2012, which “show that, during the second meeting on February 21,
2001, in addition to the case of Rumaldo Juan Pacheco Osco, it examined other requests for
refugee status and dealt with other administrative issues.” The Court points out that, regarding
Mr. Pacheco Osco’s request, the content of the minutes is the same in both documents provided
by the State, so that their authenticity and probative value are not affected.
57.
Regarding a judgment of the Constitutional Court of Bolivia declaring that several
provisions of Decree No. 24423 were unconstitutional, which was contested by the State, the
Court admits it, owing precisely to the indication by the State that these provisions “are directly
related to the instant case.” Indeed, the State itself referred to this decree in its arguments
order to maintain that it had not failed to comply with its obligations under Article 2 of the
Convention and even referred to this judgment as a defense argument on several occasions.
58.
Regarding the documents that concern expenses incurred by the representatives of the
presumed victims, the Court refers to the considerations in the section relating to the Victims’
Fund in the chapter on reparations of this Judgment.
59.
In relation to a notarized certification of photographs of a web page from the Facebook
social network with profiles of members of the Pacheco Tineo family, provided by the State,46
the Court considers that this is inadmissible because it is irrelevant as regards the facts of this
case, which is not related to the financial capacity of this family or their living conditions in
Chile.
60.
In a brief transmitted after the final written arguments, the State forwarded the text of
Law No. 370, the Immigration Act, promulgated on May 8, 2013, alleging that the Court had
requested this at the hearing. Although the content of this law is not related to the merits of the
case, the Court admits it as information that may be useful in the chapter on reparations.
61.
Regarding the other documents that were contested, the Court considers that the
State’s arguments relate to their probative meaning and scope, but do not affect their
admissibility as part of the body of evidence.
C. Admission of the statements of the presumed victims, witness, and expert
witnesses
62.
Regarding the statements made before notary public and those rendered during the
public hearing, the Court admits them and considers them pertinent insofar as they are in
keeping with the purpose defined by the President of the Court in the Order requiring them.
These statements will be assessed in the corresponding chapter, together with the other
elements of the body of evidence, and taking into account any pertinent observations made by
the parties.47 In this regard, the State asked the Court to reject specific parts of the statements,
because they were not substantiated and because they lacked a causal nexus to the facts of the
case, which relates to their probative value and does not affect their admissibility.
63.
On providing his expert opinion during the public hearing, expert witness Juan Carlos
Murillo stated that, subsequently, he would present a brief with his opinion and complementary
information in relation to the points raised by the parties and the questions of the judges. At
46
The State presented photographs published on the Facebook social network, in which the Pacheco Tineo couple
presumably appear on holiday in other countries.
47
Cf. Case of Loayza Tamayo v. Peru. Merits. Judgment of September 17, 1997. Series C No. 33, para. 43, and
Case of the Barrios Family v. Venezuela. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 24, 2011. Series C No.
238, para. 25.
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