43
characterization of violations of Articles 24 and 25.”180 In paragraph 15 of the Admissibility Report,
the Commission indicated that:
“The petitioner believed that his right to due process enshrined in Article 8 of the American
Convention was violated in connection with Article 14(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the right to work, the right to equality before the law, and the right to judicial
protection. The petitioner likewise indicates that, according to Article 39 of the Amparo Law, in
conjunction with Article 303 of the Constitution, his constitutional rights were violated.
l.
The brief of APRODEH, on behalf of Mr. Lagos del Campo, dated March 16, 2011, addressed
to the Commission’s Executive Secretary and received on March 24, 2011, indicated that it
presented observations on the Admissibility Report. In the part with requests, it asked “[t]hat,
based on these conclusions, the State be required: (a) to facilitate the conditions for Alfredo Lagos
del Campo to be able to take the necessary steps to recover the use and enjoyment of his labor
rights, lost as a result of his dismissal […].”181
134. Based on all the above, this Court has verified that, starting with the first communications
he sent to the Commission, the petitioner requested protection of his rights “to a fair trial (due
process) and the right to work.” Also, the State indicated expressly that, in the petition he lodged
before the Commission, Mr. Lagos del Campo requested “immediate reinstatement in his job at
CEPER-PIRELLI, with the corresponding salary and benefits.”
135. The Court points out that although the Commission noted this request in its Admissibility
Report (supra, para. 133 (k)), it failed to rule on the alleged right to work and its possible
admissibility. The Court also notes that, from the early stage, the State was aware of this claim
by the presumed victim (supra, para. 133(i)), which is also evident in the factual framework
presented by the Commission.
136.
In this regard, the State expressly indicated before the Court that:
“The whole dispute [is] centered on Mr. Lagos del Campo’s dismissal by Ceper-Pirelli, because
he committed an offense that was established in article 5(a) and (h) of Law No. 24514 – the
law that regulates the right to job security” (merits file, folio 224). During the public hearing,
the State considered that the case related to a context in which the “labor laws were highly
protective of the worker,” because “they provided a legal means of absolute protection of the
workers’ job security.”
137. Consequently, the Court notes that the facts corresponding to the dismissal of Mr. Lagos
del Campo have constantly been aired before the domestic judicial instances, 182 and also in the
proceedings before the inter-American system183 (supra, para. 133). Moreover, the argument on
the right to work was repeatedly substantiated by the petitioner as of the initial procedural stages
before the Commission. In this regard, the parties have had abundant possibilities of referring to
the scope of the rights involved in the facts analyzed.184
Admissibility Report No. 152/10 adopted on November 1, 2010 (evidence file, procedure before the IACHR, ff.
776 and 784).
180
Brief of APRODEH on behalf of Mr. Lagos del Campo of March 16, 2011 (evidence file, procedure before the
IACHR, f. 703).
181
His complaint before the Labor Court reveals the labor dispute. In his petition, he indicated that “since the unfair
and unjustified nature of the dismissal is well-known […], [he] ask[ed] the court […] to order the suspension of the
dismissal and [his] reinstatement in [his] usual job” (evidence file, procedure before the IACHR, f. 27).
182
In particular, the Court underlines that, in his first communication addressed to the Inter-American Commission
on October 13, 1993, the petitioner stated, among other matters, that his “right to job security indicated in article 48 of
the Constitution and articles 27 and 26 of the proposed new constitution” had been violated. Initial petition lodged before
the IACHR (evidence file, procedure before the IACHR, f. 439).
183
Cf. Case of Godínez Cruz v. Honduras. Merits. Judgment of January 20, 1989. Series C No. 5, para. 172, and
Case of the Sawhoyamaxa Indigenous Community v. Paraguay. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of March 29,
2006. Series C No. 146, para. 186.
184