proceeding may be, in and of itself, a violation of judicial guarantees.418 The Court has established
that the concept of reasonable time should be analyzed in each specific case, in relation to the
total duration of the process, which could also include the execution of the final judgment. Thus,
it has considered four elements to determine whether the guarantee of reasonable time was met,
namely: (i) the complexity of the matter; (ii) procedural activity by the interested parties; (iii)
the conduct of judicial authorities, and (iv) the impact on the legal situation of the alleged
victim.419 The Court recalls that it is up to the State to demonstrate, based on these criteria, the
reasons for the amount of time it has taken to resolve the cases; otherwise, the Court has broad
powers to draw its own conclusions on this matter.420
172. Thus, and in light of these standards, the Court will proceed to analyze the amount of time
that elapsed between the delivery of the judgments by the final court of appeal, until the present
in the thirteen cases addressed by the instant case, based on the factors of (B.3.1) complexity of
the matter, (B.3.2) procedural activity by the interested parties, (B.3.3) the conduct of judicial
authorities, and (B.3.4) the impact on the legal situation of the alleged victims.
B.3.1. The complexity of the matter
173. The Court holds several factors to be relevant for judging the complexity of the matter.
These include the complexity of the evidence, the number of parties to the process or victims,
the time elapsed since word was received about the facts to be investigated, the characteristics
of the remedy set forth in the domestic legislation, and the context in which the violation
occurred.421 In the case at hand, the Court has seen that twenty-two to twenty-seven years
elapsed from the time the processes of enforcement of verdicts began until the time this judgment
is being delivered, during which the judgments have not yet been fully executed.
174. The next point, number of victims, has varied depending on each different procedure, such
that Agurto Chein Juisan v. the Municipality of Cauquenes, Docket No. 63-1993, has one victim
only, while Aguilera Machuca v. the Municipality of Cauquenes, Docket No. 38-1993, has 336. It
should be noted, however, that these are processes for the enforcement of final, non-appealable
judgments, in which the only task at hand is to assess the amounts and define the payment
mechanisms. It should also be noted that the courts hearing these processes were the same ones
that sat as trial courts. This Court therefore holds that the matters brought before the courts at
this stage of the case were supplementary, addressed final execution, and are not particularly
complex.
B.3.2. Procedural activity by the interested parties
418
Cf. Case of Hilaire, Constantine and Benjamin et al. v. Trinidad and Tobago. Merits, Reparations and Costs.
Judgment of June 21, 2002. Series C No. 94, para. 145, and Case of González et al. v. Venezuela. Merits and
Reparations. Judgment of September 20, 2021. Series C No. 436, para. 185.
419
Cf. Case of Suárez Rosero v. Ecuador. Merits. Judgment of November 12, 1997. Series C No. 35, para. 71 and
72, and Case of Barbosa de Souza et al. v. Brazil. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment
of September 7, 2021. Series C No. 435, note 238.
420
Cf. Case of Anzualdo Castro v. Peru. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of
September 22, 2009. Series C No. 202, para. 156, and Case of Barbosa de Souza et al. v. Brazil, supra, note 238.
421
Cf. Case of Genie Lacayo v. Nicaragua. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of January 29, 1997. Series
C No. 30, para. 78, and Case of Bedoya Lima et al. v. Colombia. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of August
26, 2021. Series C No. 431, note 302.
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