a) Those referring to the performance of public duties; b) Those carried out in the exercise of a profession or trade, the knowledge of which is of real public interest; c) Those consisting of activities to which the public has had free access, whether free of charge or for payment; d) Actions that, with the consent of the interested party, have been recorded or disseminated by any means of social communication; e) Events or expressions of which the interested party has left testimony in public records or archives public, and f) Those consisting of the commission of crimes or culpable participation therein. Facts related to sexual, marital, family or domestic life shall be considered as pertaining to the private sphere of persons, unless they constitute a crime.35 48. Article 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides for an appeal for annulment, which “is granted to invalidate the oral trial, in whole or in part, together with the final judgment, or only the latter, as appropriate, for the reasons expressly stated in the law.”36 49. Article 398 of the same Code addresses the “suspension of the imposition of a sentence for an offense.” It states the following: Article 398. Suspension of the sentence for misdemeanor. When there is merit to convict for the offense charged, but there are favorable antecedents that do not make it advisable to impose the sentence on the accused, the judge may issue the judgment and provide therein for the suspension of the sentence and its effects for a period of six months. In such a case, this suspension shall not be applicable with any of the alternative penalties contemplated in Law No. 18,216. Once the term provided for in the preceding paragraph has elapsed without the accused having been the object of a new injunction or a formalization of the investigation, the court will annul the sentence and, in its place, will decree the definitive dismissal of the case. This suspension does not affect the civil liability arising from the crime.37 B. The logging of alerce trees in Chile 50. The alerce (Patagonian cypress) is recognized as one of the most valuable natural assets of Chile’s national heritage. This ancient tree is a native species with special characteristics that enable it to grow in the mountainous terrain and marshlands of southern Chile. In 1976, the alerce tree was declared a natural monument of Chile by Supreme Decree No. 490, which led to the prohibition of illegal logging of this forest species. The decree also recognized the “intense and irrational exploitation” of these trees in recent decades.38 In the instant case, both the representatives and the State acknowledged that the illegal logging of the alerce was a matter of public interest in Chile.39 Law 19733, Freedom of Opinion and Information and the Practice of Journalism, Articles 29 and 30, supra. Law 19696, Code of Criminal Procedure, published on October 12, 2000, Article 372. Available at: https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=176595&idVersion=2022-12-31&idParte=8646954. Consulted on October 24, 2022. 37 Law 19696, Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 398, supra. 38 Cf. Supreme Decree No. 490, Declares the Alerce Forest Species a Natural Monument, published on September 5, 1977, final version of May 2003. Available at: https://www.CONAF.cl/cms/editorweb/transparencia/potestades/Dto-490_alerce.pdf. Consulted on August 24, 2022. 39 Cf. Initial petition of March 4, 2005, submitted to the Inter-American Commission, “Complaint against the State of Chile for violation of the rights of Carlos Baraona” (evidence file, folios 782 to 799); Minutes of Hearing, Carlos Baraona Bray v. Chile before the Inter-American Commission, of October 27, 2008 (evidence file, folios 209 to 222), and brief of the State, June 11, 2008, in the proceeding before the Inter-American Commission (evidence file, folios 245 to 277). 35 36 15