D.1
Pecuniary damages
248. In its case law, the Court has developed the concept of pecuniary damages
and has established that these involve “the loss of or detriment to the victims’
income, the expenses incurred as a result of the facts and the monetary
consequences that have a casual nexus with the facts of the case.” 353
249. The Commission requested that the Court, “[n]otwithstanding any claims that
the victims’ representatives might make at the appropriate procedural stage,” and
”in exercise of its broad authority, to set an amount as compensation for damnum
emergens and lucrum cessans based on the principle of equity.”
250. The representatives pointed out that as a direct consequence of the violations
suffered, the victims lost their farmlands which they tilled together with their
relatives. According to the representatives, Mr. Cabrera García worked in
agriculture, had a house and a plot of land of two (2) hectares on which he grew
crops, which he used to feed his family and for sale. Although the land was subject
to a collective land ownership system (the “ejido” – area of common land), the
representatives stressed that “for all practical purposes, they belonged to [Mr.
Cabrera García].” As to Mr. Montiel Flores, the representatives explained that Mr.
Montiel Flores tilled common land for which he had obtained a permit from the
community [comunidad ejidal], an activity he complemented by selling clothes with
his wife on Sundays and breeding pigs for sale. The income he generated from
these activities was variable, but, in general, he made $800.00 Mexican pesos
monthly from the sale of pigs and $ 2,500.00 from selling clothes, i.e. $ 3,300.00
Mexican pesos, or $ 39,600.00 Mexican pesos annually, equivalent to US$ 2,995.18
American dollars. The representatives pointed out that the victims were forced to
abandon their land not only because of their fear due to intimidation by local
political bosses but also by the military. In addition, the representatives requested
the reimbursement of transportation expenses and expenses for visits to the
detention centers, incurred mainly by the victims’ wives, which, according to the
representatives, amounted to approximately US$ 1,905.49 American dollars which,
together with the loss of their land, implied damage to the family assets.
251. The State pointed out that, in this case, there were no violations of the
Convention, and therefore compensatory reparations would not be applicable.
Moreover, since “each and every one of the amounts requested for pecuniary
damages by the petitioners […] result solely and exclusively from the fact that
Messrs. Montiel and Cabrera were imprisoned,” there should be no order for
reparations due to the lack of a causal link. The State added that the victim’s
decision to leave the common lands was due to their fear of the actions taken by
local political bosses, according to their own relatives. According to the State, “the
interruption of the victims’ activities [apparently occurred] due to their involvement
in several serious crimes and their arrest in flagranti delicto” and “not due to any
violation by the Mexican State.”
252. The Court notes that the representatives did not submit any documentary
evidence concerning the alleged consequential damages or loss of income suffered
by Messrs. Cabrera and Montiel. The main evidence on this regard is testimonial
evidence, which is acceptable in the circumstances of this case, because the victims
worked in the fields, and this explains a certain degree of informality. Furthermore,
the Court considers it foreseeable that the violation of the right to humane
353
Cf. Case of Bámaca Velásquez v. Guatemala. Reparations and Costs. Judgment of February 22,
2002. Series C No. 91, para. 43; Case of Rosendo Cantú et al. v. Mexico, supra note 30, para. 270;
Case of Ibsen Cárdenas and Ibsen Peña v. Bolivia, supra note 30, para. 260.
90
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