of accountability, and it could, therefore be considered that there has been an unwarranted delay in the judicial decision under the provisions of Article 37.c of the Regulations of the Commission, which would make it possible to waive the requirement of the exhaustion of domestic remedies; b. The clearly arbitrary manner in which Judge Echavarria Lorca assessed the evidence, purely on the basis of the testimony of seven members of the patrol and ignoring all the other evidence and the serious distortion of the facts revealed in the expression “… they were released…” used in the verdict calling for the trial of Lieutenant Fernandez Dittus for the commission of manslaughter and serious injury and acquitting the rest of the patrol, all of which would constitute behavior that is at odds with the obligation of any magistrate to safeguard the rights of citizens and see to the proper observance of the law; c. The various irregularities pertaining to legal process inherent in the military justice system in Chile, which the Commission has discussed in detail in Chapter VIII of its 1985 Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Chile, wherein it states the following: “… the actions of these courts [military] have served to provide a veneer of legality to cover up the impunity which the members of the Chilean Security Forces enjoy when they are found to be involved in flagrant violations of human rights.” In the case under examination, these irregularities pertaining to legal process inherent in Chilean military justice are reflected in the abusive recourse to secrecy in the conduct of the proceedings. The situation that has thereby arisen has made it virtually impossible to gain access to basic elements of the trial and allows the military authorities to control the evidence submitted. The Commission is, therefore, led to believe that the provisions of Article 37.2.b concerning the nonexistence of due process of law should be applied in this case. d. The very small proportion of military or police personnel who have been convicted in Chile for numerous denunciations of human rights violations, which gives reason to believe that the delay in judicial proceedings in this case could become yet another device for assuring the impunity of the perpetrators of a crime that is so reprehensible, especially when one takes into account Lieutenant Fernandez Dittus’ promotion to the rank of Captain, and the freedom he enjoys while such extremely serious accusations are under investigation. Added to this are the statements made by high-level Chilean authorities, including the President himself, exonerating the military officers involved, and indication of the negative attitude that exists as regards inflicting the punishment that hose responsible for so condemnable an offense deserve. 8. That the long period that has lapsed since the events giving rise to the present case occurred and publicity they have received both in Chile and abroad lead the Commission to believe that the Government of that country has incurred in an unwarranted delay by not submitting a response to the claimant’s observations as requested and that, in any event, the Government may make such observations as it may deem pertinent when this resolution is forwarded to it, in accordance with the provisions of Article 53.2 of the Regulations of the Commission. 9. That the early request forwarded to the Government of Chile that the Commission be allowed to investigate this case in situ was denied then and again 15 months later, in identical terms, giving cause to believe that the Government of Chile has not provided the necessary cooperation in enabling the Commission to have direct knowledge of the material involved in the proceedings. 10. That the observations of the Government of Chile on the resolution concern the need for prior exhaustion of domestic remedies without invalidating the considerations set forth in paragraph 7 above, especially if one takes into account that five months have already elapsed since the provisional approval of resolution 01a/88, and more than 26 months since the events that are the motive for Case No. 9755, without any judicial decision having been taken on the matter. 11. That among the factual aspects mentioned by the Government of Chile in its observations, some Downloaded from worldcourts.com. Use is subject to terms and conditions. See worldcourts.com/terms.htm