17.
In addition, the agreement established the scope of these rights, “specifically, [with
regard to the] death of 107 inmates deprived of liberty in Cell No. 19 of the San Pedro Sula
Prison on May 17, 2004. Furthermore, regarding the nature and mechanisms of the
agreement, “in accordance with Article 63 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure, [its intention]
is to settle in a friendly manner the violation of rights protected by the American
Convention, based on which the State […] is obliged to provide reparation for noncompliance with their protection. Regarding “the determination of the beneficiary,” it
established that “[b]y agreement between the parties, it includes the victims and their next
of kin described in the Inter-American Commission’s Report on Merits.” Moreover, “[t]aking
into account the precarious situation of public finances, it was agreed to establish a fixed
amount as compensation that includes pecuniary damage, non-pecuniary damage, expenses
and costs,” which it asked should be kept confidential for security reasons.” In addition, “the
parties jointly […] requested the Court to endorse the […] agreement when delivering its
judgment that ends this litigation.” The State undertook, under the agreement, to prepare
“a timetable for the implementation and discharge of the agreed elements, which includes
the timing, those responsible and the implementation mechanisms, which will form part of
the [agreement].”17 Lastly, “[t]he judgment delivered by the Court […] must be socialized to
the public officials in charge of State entities of the national prison system to that they are
aware of it and implement it.” The substantive elements of the agreements, as well as the
measures of reparation ordered by the Court based on the violations declared will be dealt
with in Chapters VII and VIII of this judgment.
B. Considerations of the Court
18.
Pursuant to Articles 62 and 63 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure, the Court must
determine the admissibility and the legal effects of the acknowledgement of international
responsibility and the friendly settlement agreement.
19.
In this regard, the Court considers that the State’s acknowledgment of responsibility
makes a positive contribution to the advancement of these proceedings and the exercise of
the principles underlying the American Convention.18 The Court also considers, as in other
cases,19 that this acknowledgment has full legal effects in this case. Also, it assesses
positively that the parties have reached a friendly settlement, which reflects the willingness
of Honduras to make integral reparation for the harm caused to the victims as a result of
the violations in this case, and represents a significant opportunity for the State to ensure
that similar events are not repeated. The Court also finds that, when the parties reach
agreement, this contributes to the objectives of the inter-American system for the
protection of human rights, especially to the purpose of finding just solutions to the specific
and structural problems of a case.
20.
Based on the above, according to the terms in which the State acknowledged its
responsibility in the case and the purpose of the friendly settlement agreement, the Court
finds that the dispute has ceased with regard to the facts and the violations of Articles 4
(Right to Life), 5 (Right to Humane Treatment), 7 (Right to Personal Liberty), 9 (Freedom
17
On April 17, 2012, the State sent the Court the timetable for execution and fulfillment (hereinafter
“implementation timetable”).
18
Cf. Case of Trujillo Oroza v. Bolivia. Merits. Judgment of January 26, 2000. Series C No. 64, para. 42,
supra, and Case of Contreras et al. v. El Salvador. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of August 31, 2011.
Series C No. 232, para. 26.
19
Cf. Case of Acevedo Jaramillo et al. v. Peru. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs.
Judgment of February 7, 2006. Series C No. 144, paras. 176 to 180, and Case of Torres Millacura et al. v.
Argentina. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of August 26, 2011. Series C No. 229, para. 37.
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