REPORT Nº 31/98
CASE 11.803
JUAN PABLO OLMEDO BUSTOS, CIRO COLOMBARA LÓPEZ, CLAUDIO MÁRQUEZ VIDAL, ALEX
MUÑOZ WILSON, MATÍAS INSUZA TAGLE, AND HERNÁN AGUIRRE FUENTES
CHILE
May 5, 1998
I.
PROCESSING BY THE COMMISSION
1. On September 10, 1997 the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter "the
Commission") received a petition concerning violation of rights protected in the American
Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter "the Convention") by the Republic of Chile (hereinafter
"the State," "the Chilean State," or "Chile") to the detriment of Juan Pablo Olmedo Bustos, Ciro
Colombara López, Claudio Márquez Vidal, Alex Muñoz Wilson, Matías Insuza Tagle, and Hernán
Aguirre Fuentes. The petition was presented on their behalf by the Asociación de Abogados por las
Libertades Públicas A.G. (The Lawyers for Public Liberties A.G)
II.
THE PETITION AND THE STATE’S RESPONSE
2. The case deals with the international liability that the petitioners impute to the Chilean State
derived from the decision of its Supreme Court upholding the ruling of the Santiago Court of
Appeals, which annulled approval for the showing of the film "The Last Temptation of Christ". The
National Motion Picture Rating Board [Consejo Nacional de Calificación Cinematográfica] had
granted said authorization in November, 1996. The decisions of the Chilean courts to rescind the
approval granted by the National Council for Cinematographic Rating meant that the movie cannot
be shown in Chile.
3. The petitioner alleges that the Chilean State has violated the freedom of thought and
expression contained in Articles 12 and 13, in conjunction with Articles 1(1) and 2 of the American
Convention, and Articles 26 and 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and it
requests that the Commission so declare; that it order that the consequences of the violation of
these rights be redressed; and, that it take necessary measures to make its internal legislation
compatible with the provisions of the Convention on the subject of freedom of expression.
4. In its response dated January 8, the Chilean State asserted its respect for the rule of law and
the basic institutions that make up the legal and political system of the State; that although it
may disagree with some of the criteria adopted by other branches of the State, it has the duty to
respect their decisions and collaborate in their execution, when necessary; that the constitution of
the Chilean State establishes limits for the exercise of each of the powers of State, within the
framework established by the rule of law; that democratic governments cannot invalidate or annul
judgments handed down by the Judiciary even when they are contrary to their interests or
positions.
5. That neither is it lawful for the Government to affect the proprietary rights of the office enjoyed
by those who make up the Judicial Branch, as a guarantee of its independence; that the
Government has made the decision to amend part of the Constitution in order to eliminate prior
censorship in the case of motion picture production and its publicity and to replace it by a system
for rating films prior to their showing to the public; that the constitutional amendment�� bill was
sent to the Chamber of Deputies on April 15
of this year for study and subsequent adoption.
6. The bill submitted by the Government has a single article, which amends Article 19, No. 12, of
the Constitution of the Republic as follows:
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