206. Based on the foregoing, the Court concludes that, in addition to the civil action in the
context of criminal proceedings, Mr. García Lucero could have filed the “finance proceeding,”
a remedy that he did not attempt. In addition, there is no record that, despite being
deprived of access to certain measures of reparation established in Law No. 19,992, because
he lived in the United Kingdom, Mr. García Lucero tried to file any claim in either the judicial
or the administrative jurisdiction to question his impossibility of enjoying those benefits. The
representatives have indicated that, in general, the courts of first instance and the appeals
courts admit claims for compensation (supra para. 204), without justifying why, in this case,
no claim was made or why a claim would not be admissible. The Commission did not submit
any arguments in this regard either. Consequently, and because there is no record that Mr.
García Lucero or his family members have tried to file claims, the Court finds that, in this
case, there is insufficient evidence to allow it to conclude with the required degree of
certainty that the domestic regulations on the prescription of civil actions has impeded Mr.
García Lucero and his family members from filing claims. Therefore, in relation to the
possibilities of filing claims for measures of reparation in this case, the Court does not find it
proved that the State is responsible for violating the rights to judicial guarantees and
judicial protection recognized in Articles 8(1) and 25(1) of the American Convention, in
relation to Article 1(1) of this treaty and the obligation contained in Article 9 of the InterAmerican Convention against Torture.
VIII
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT AND RESIDENCE
A.
Arguments of the Commission and of the parties
207. At the public hearing, the representatives stated that “it could be argued that the
situation of don Leopoldo and his family also constitutes a violation of Article 22 of the
American Convention 219 owing to the exile that he has had to endure.” In their final written
arguments they indicated that the Court:
Has jurisdiction to find [that the State is internationally responsible] for the exile because it
constitutes a violation of Article 22, in particular paragraph 5. This is because Chile has known
that [Mr. García Lucero] lives in exile, at least reasonably and specifically since 1993 when he
applied for the benefits of the Law on Political Exiles and, despite this, Chile has continued
denying him and his family the conditions required to be able to return.
208. They added that “his return must be made in conditions of legal, physical and
material safety, including access to land and to means of subsistence. […] Chile, with the
absolute absence of reparation policies for exiles, has not complied with these standards.
B.
Considerations of the Court
209. The Court notes that the Commission did not consider the violation of the right to
movement and residence in its brief submitting the case to the Court, or in its Merits Report.
However, the presumed victims or their representatives may cite rights other than those
included by the Commission based on the facts presented by the latter. 220 The
219
The relevant part of Article 22 of the Convention establishes that:
“5.
No one can be expelled from the territory of the State of which he is a national or be deprived of
the right to enter it.”
[…]
220
Cf. Case of the “Five Pensioners” v. Peru. Merits reparations and costs. Judgment of February 28, 2003.
Series C No. 98, para. 155, and Case of Suárez Peralta v. Ecuador, supra, para. 19.
68