others in the year 2000, the investigation of this crime is in the hands of the Judges of the Court of Appeals of Santiago". 8. With respect to the trial for compensation for these events, the petitioners argued that in the proceedings "Ordenes María con Fisco de Chile", which began in 1997, Mrs. Maria Ordenes presented a claim before the Eighth Civil Court of Santiago for compensation for the moral suffering caused by State agents through the kidnapping and assassination of her husband, and for the denial of justice and the failure to provide information on those events. This claim was based on the report of the Rettig Commission, which recognized Mr. Augusto Alcayaga Aldunate as a victim of grave violations of human rights during the military dictatorship. 9. On January 28, 1999 the Eighth Civil Court of Santiago dismissed the claim, declaring that "the facts underlying the claim for compensation occurred in 1973, and the period of time that has elapsed prior to submission of the claim exceeded the statutory five years that the court deems applicable in this case".5 This was tantamount to saying, the petitioners argue, that Mrs. Maria Ordenes should have filed her claim against the State in 1977 in order to have it recognized. Since she did so in 1997, her action was too late and her right to reparations was extinguished by the statute of limitations. The claimant filed an appeal against that judgment, which was admitted on April 22, 1999. 10. On October 24, 2002 the Fourth Chamber of the Court of Appeals of Santiago denied the appeal, accepting in full the statutory limitations argument applied by the court of first instance. The plaintiff then brought an action for cassation against this decision, which was dismissed as desierto 6 by the Supreme Court on January 7, 2003. The case was returned to the court of first instance, which confirmed its original judgment on March 17, 2003, and this was the last decision issued in the case. 11. The petitioners complain that this application of the rules of civil law, which are intended to govern relationships between private individuals, to a dispute under public law regulated by the Constitution and by international human rights treaties is "extraordinarily erroneous, prejudicial to the interest of the victims, their relatives, and a violation 5 Eighth Civil Court of Santiago, Case 494-97, Judgment of 28 January 1999, "whereas" clause 12. 6 “Desierto” is a juridical term used in Chile to mean "lapsed" or "expired", signifying that an appeal is untimely or out of order.