Credit: IACtHR
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) is currently holding its 108th Ordinary Session, which began on April 13 and will conclude on April 17, 2015 in San Jose, Costa Rica, and will be holding its 52nd Special Session from April 20 to April 24, 2015 in Cartagena, Colombia.
108th Ordinary Session
During the 108th Ordinary Session, the Court will deliberate on the following three cases: Granier et al. (Radio Caracas Television – RCTV) v. Venezuela, Cruz Sánchez et al. v. Peru, and Canales Huapaya et al. v. Peru. The Court will also review various pending cases, provisional measures, and compliance with sentences. In addition, the Court will address other administrative matters and host a conference co-organized with the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Law and International Law. [IACtHR Press Release (Spanish)]
Granier et al. (Radio Caracas Television – RCTV) v. Venezuela
In Granier et al. (Radio Caracas Television-RCTV) v. Venezuela, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) found that Venezuela violated rights including the rights to freedom of expression and to equal protection, as well as the right to a fair trial and to judicial protection when Venezuela decided not to renew the license for Radio Caracas Television (RCTV). As a result, RCTV no longer transmitted as an open television station, impacting the freedom of expression of those associated with the station, including its stockholders, directors, and journalists. See IACHR, Report No. 112/12, Case No. 12.828, Marcel Granier et al. (Venezuela), 9 November 2012.
The IACHR submitted the case to the IACtHR’s jurisdiction in 2013 because the State had failed to inform the IACHR, within the required time period, about its compliance with the recommendations, which included, inter alia, taking steps to allocate a free-to-air television frequency in which RCTV would be able to participate equally, making reparations to victims for the damages they suffered, and ensuring that measures were adopted to ensure compliance with Venezuela’s international obligations. [IACHR Press Release] See IACHR, Letter of Submission to the Court, Case No. 12.828, Marcel Granier et al. (Radio Caracas Television)(Venezuela), 28 February 2013.
Information about this case and videos of the public hearing are available on the Court’s Vimeo page.
Cruz Sánchez et al. v. Peru
In Cruz Sánchez et al. v. Peru, the IACHR found that Peru violated the rights to life, due process and judicial protection, and personal integrity, of three individuals of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement who were extrajudicially executed. The case involved Operation Chavín de Huántar, an incident which involved State authorities regaining control of the residence of the Ambassador of Japan in Peru after members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement took over the residence and took hostages. See IACHR, Report No. 66/10, Case No. 12.444, Eduardo Nicolás Cruz Sánchez, et al. (Peru) 31 March 2011.
The IACHR referred the case to the IACtHR in 2011 on the basis that the State had failed to comply with the Commission’s recommendations such as conducting an investigation or assessing the responsibility of involved actors. See IACHR, Letter of Submission to the Court, Case No. 12.444, Eduardo Nicolás Cruz Sánchez et al. (Peru), 13 December 2011. [IACHR Press Release]
Information about this case and videos of the public hearing are available on the Court’s Vimeo page.
Canales Huapaya et al. v. Peru
The case of Canales Huapaya et al. v. Peru involved the violation of the right to a fair trial and judicial protection when the State of Peru did not provide an adequate, effective judicial response when three individuals were dismissed from their positions in Congress.
The IACHR submitted the case to the jurisdiction of the IACtHR in 2013 because the State had not provided information on its implementation of the Commission’s recommendations, including providing reparations for damages caused by the human rights violations. [IACHR Press Release]
Information about this case and videos of the public hearing are available on the Court’s Vimeo page.
52nd Special Session
During the 52nd Special Session, the Inter-American Court will hold four public hearings and a seminar on transitional justice and the IACtHR. The seminar will include a case study of Colombia, a comparative perspective on reparations in the Court’s jurisprudence, and a discussion of sentences issued by the Court.
The public hearings will cover the following cases: Gonzáles Lluy (TGGL) and family v. Ecuador, Velásquez Paiz et al. v. Guatemala, Omar Humberto Maldonado Vargas et al. v. Chile, Ruano Torres and family v. El Salvador.
Gonzáles Lluy (TGGL) and family v. Ecuador
The IACtHR will hold a public hearing on Gonzáles Lluy (TGGL) and family v. Ecuador, in which a three-year-old child was infected with HIV through a blood transfusion from the Red Cross. The IACHR, in its 2013 decision on the merits, found that the State had violated the rights to life, dignity, personal integrity, and judicial guarantees and judicial protection. The Commission also found that the State failed to comply with its special obligations to protect TGGL which it owed her because she was a child. See IACHR, Report No. 102/13, Case 12.723, Gonzáles Lluy (TGGL) and family (Ecuador) (Spanish), 5 November 2013.
The IACHR referred the case to the Court in 2014 after Ecuador failed to comply with the Commission’s recommendations which included compensating TGGL and her mother, providing required medical treatment and free education, and fully and effectively investigating the human rights violations. [IACHR Press Release]
Velásquez Paiz et al. v. Guatemala
The Court will hold a public hearing on Velásquez Paiz et al. v. Guatemala concerning the treatment of Claudina Isabel Velásquez Paiz whose dead body, with signs indicating she had been subjected to violence, including rape, was found on a street. The Commission found that the State failed to protect the victim’s life and physical integrity and also that it failed to conduct a serious investigation into her disappearance and death. The Commission also found that the State had committed multiple failures in conducting the investigation and noted that the climate of discrimination against women impacted the State’s lack of diligence in conducting an investigation and its failure to protect the victim. See IACHR, Admissibility Report No 110/10, Petition 1560-07, Velásquez Paiz et al. (Guatemala), 4 October 2010.
The IACHR submitted the case to the IACtHR’s jurisdiction in 2014 because Guatemala had not complied with the Commission’s recommendations which included, inter alia, completing the investigation, identifying, prosecuting, and punishing responsible individuals, compensating the victim’s relatives, and adopting comprehensive public policies and institutional programs towards the goal of eliminating discriminatory stereotypes about women. [IACHR Press Release]
Omar Humberto Maldonado Vargas et al. v. Chile
The case of Omar Humberto Maldonado Vargas et al. v. Chile will also be the subject of a public hearing. This case concerns the denial of justice stemming from the failure to investigate torture committed against a group of victims during the Chilean military dictatorship as well as the failure to provide them with an effective remedy. The Commission submitted this case to the Court’s jurisdiction after Chile failed to comply with the Commission’s recommendations, as set out in its report on the merits, issued in 2013. Among other things, the Commission had recommended an investigation and criminal prosecution and punishment of the torture committed, the establishment of criminal or administrative responsibility for failure to investigate the torture, and the provision of reparations to the victims and their families. See IACHR, Case No. 12.500, Letter of Submission, Omar Humberto Maldonado Vargas et al. (Chile), 12 April 2014. [IACHR Press Release]
Ruano Torres and family v. El Salvador
The IACHR submitted the case of Ruano Torres and family v. El Salvador to the IACtHR’s jurisdiction in 2014 after the Commission found that the State was not making substantive progress to comply with its recommendations. These recommendations included that the State should take steps to nullify the effects of the victim’s conviction, provide reparation, and adopt measures to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
In its decision, the IACHR had decided that the State of El Salvador had violated the rights of Ruano Torres when he was arrested and maltreated in front of his family. Specifically the IACHR concluded that the physical and verbal abuse that Torres had suffered constituted torture and that the State had violated his right to the presumption of innocence and the right to a defense, that the deprivation of his liberty was arbitrary, and that the State had failed to provide effective recourse to investigate the acts of torture, protect Ruano Torres from due process violations, or review his deprivation of liberty. [IACHR Press Release]
About the Inter-American System
The IACtHR’s 109th regular session will be June 15 to June 20, 2015. The Court will hold its 53rd Special Session from June 22 to June 26, 2015. For more information on the Inter-American Commission or Court visit the Inter-American Human Rights System page of the IJRC Online Resource Hub.