Report No. 114 (2021) IACHR. Petition No. 12.737 (Guatemala)

• Year: 2021
• Case Type: Friendly Settlements
• Respondent State: Guatemala
• Court: Inter-American Comission of Human Rights

REPORT No. 114/21

CASE 12.737

REPORT ON FRIENDLY SETTLEMENT

CARLOS RAÚL MORALES CATALÁN

GUATEMALA

OEA/Ser.L/V/II.

D.. 122

9 J. 2021

Original: Spanish

Approved electronically by the Commission on J.9., 2021.

Cite as: IACHR, R. No. 114/2021, C. 12.737 Friendly Settlement. Carlos R. M.C.. Guatemala. J.9., 2021.

www.cidh.org

REPORT No. 114/21

CASE 12.737

FRIENDLY SETTLEMENT

CARLOS RAÚL MORALES CATALÁN

GUATEMALA1
JUNE 9, 2021

1. SUMMARY AND RELEVANT PROCEEDINGS OF THE FRIENDLY SETTLEMENT PROCESS

1. On A. 27, 2001, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter the "Inter-American Commission", "Commission" or "IACHR") received a petition filed by Carlos R. M.C. (hereinafter "the petitioner") on behalf of himself and his sons J.R. and Javier Ernesto M. Vera (hereinafter "the alleged victims") against the Republic of Guatemala (hereinafter "the Guatemalan S.", "Guatemala" or the "S.") for the alleged responsibility of the G.S. in the denial of justice suffered by the petitioner and the alleged victims in the criminal proceedings and in the damages lawsuit established as a consequence of the injuries suffered by their sons in a car accident, which occurred on J. 16, 1998.

2. The petitioner alleged that the S. of Guatemala was responsible for the violation of the rights enshrined in Articles 5 (personal integrity), 8 (judicial guarantees), 19 (rights of the child) and 25 (guarantees of judicial protection) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter the "Convention" or "American Convention") in accordance with Article 1(1) and (2) of said international instrument. In addition, it alleged the violation of Articles 1 (definition of a child as a human being under eighteen years of age), 3 (superior interest of the child), 6 (inherent right to life of children) and 19 (obligation of the S. and guarantees of protection of children) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

3. On November 12, 2009, the IACHR issued an Admissibility R. No. 120/09 in which it declared admissible the petition on the alleged violation of the rights enshrined in Articles 8 (judicial guarantees) and 25 (guarantees of judicial protection), in accordance with Article 1(1) of the American Convention. In its admissibility report, the Commission considered that the alleged difficulties in accessing the reparation ordered by the courts for the injuries caused in the accident to the M.V. children, could characterize a possible violation of human rights; and that the establishment of a criminal conviction for the determination of civil reparations for the victims as part of the legal system of the criminal proceedings in Guatemala, could constitute an alleged violation of the right to judicial protection within a reasonable period of time.

4. On J. 19, 2010, the petitioner requested the Commission to initiate a friendly settlement procedure. On this regard, the G.S. reported on a bilateral working meeting for the drafting of an FSA and on the actions taken "with the purpose of concluding the internal requirements to sign the friendly settlement agreement". S., the parties signed a friendly settlement agreement on December 21, 2010.

5. On November 23, 2020, the petitioner requested the Commission, in the framework of the implementation of Resolution 3/20 on differentiated actions to address the procedural backlog in friendly settlement proceedings, to approve and publish the friendly settlement agreement reached in this case. This information was sent to the S. for its consideration.

6. In this friendly settlement report, in accordance with Article 49 of the Convention and Article 40(5) of the Commission's Rules of Procedure, a summary of the facts alleged by the petitioner is given and the friendly settlement agreement signed on December 21, 2010, between the petitioner and representatives of the G.S. is transcribed. L., the agreement signed between the parties is approved and it is agreed that this report will be published in the Annual R. of the IACHR to the General Assembly of the Organization of American S.s.

2. THE FACTS ALLEGED

7. According to the petitioners' allegations, on J. 16, 1998, their two sons, J.E.a.J.R.M.V., aged 2 and 4 respectively at the time of the events, were traveling to school in a minibus driven by L.P.T.T. de Luna. On the way, the minibus was collided with another vehicle driven by S.Q.V.. As a result of the incident, one minor died and seven others were injured, among them the M.V. children.

8. The petitioner also indicated that, because of the accident, his son J.E. lost the mobility of his right index finger and had a 20% impairment of the function of his hand, for which he would need reconstructive surgery to return his finger to normal. Regarding his other son J.R., he reported that he suffered injuries to the abdominal viscera, blows to the head and a hip injury that would cause an alteration of the bone structure. The above would have implied that the minor underwent several surgeries due to a shortening of the left femur that caused him difficulties to walk. He also indicated that he suffered a deviation of the spine that requires surgical intervention. F., he indicated that because of the accident he would have had to pay a considerable amount of money for medical, surgical and legal services, and that, given his precarious economic situation, he was not able to cover all the necessary procedures.

9. The petitioner indicated that the Prosecutor had filed a criminal action against L.P.T.T. de Luna and Santiago Quidiello Valenzuela before the Third Criminal Court of First Instance, Drug Trafficking and Crimes against the Environment. The petitioner had requested to be included as a co-plaintiff and civil plaintiff in the proceedings but was unable to participate in this capacity in the first hearing, since he did not have the consent of the defendants. The petitioner indicated that the criminal trial began more than four years after the filing of the complaint with the Commission, without a final decision.

10. S., on M. 5, 2004, the Guatemalan Courts reportedly convicted L.P.T.T. and Santiago Quidiello Valenzuela, establishing that each should pay a compensation of 250,000 quetzals to the petitioner, by way of civil liability for the injuries caused to the alleged victims. On August 24, 2005, the petitioner reportedly initiated an executive proceeding to enforce the civil indemnity. As a result, the court issued a payment order to the convicted parties, but they refused to pay and fraudulently concealed their assets, so that they could not be seized either.

11. On September 18, 2006, the petitioner reportedly filed a complaint with the Prosecutor against Mrs. Torón Torres for the fraudulent transfer of assets and rights, charging her with the crimes of material and ideological falsehood and concealment of assets. The petitioner alleged that said criminal proceeding was at a standstill and that the Prosecutor's Office had not initiated the pertinent inquiries.

12. The petitioner alleged that the impossibility of obtaining the compensation corresponding to the criminal proceeding for the injuries suffered by his children represented a denial of justice by the G.S., making it impossible to obtain the economic means to pay for the surgeries necessary for the rehabilitation and cure of his children. It also considered that justice had not been obtained within a reasonable period of time, given the delays in the initiation of the first criminal proceedings, the failure to enforce civil obligations in a timely manner, as well as the delay in processing the criminal complaint filed against Laura Patricia Torón Torres.

3. FRIENDLY SETTLEMENT

13. On December 21, 2010, the parties signed a friendly settlement agreement. The content of the agreement submitted to the IACHR is included below.

FRIENDLY SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

CASE 12.737 C.R. MORALES CATALÁN AND OTHERS

I. PARTIES

The S. of Guatemala appears, through the Executive Presidential Coordinating Commission on Policy regarding Human Rights Matters- COPREDEH (in Spanish), through its president Dora Ruth del Valle Cóbar, position accredited with the Government Appointment Agreement number forty-eight (48) of J. thirtieth, two thousand eight and the possession registry number seven dash two thousand eight (7-2008) recorded in the S. Registration Books number thirty-eight thousand seven hundred and sixty-two (38762) of the Presidential Coordinating Commission of the Executive Policy on Human Rights, authorized by the General Comptroller of Accounts of the Nation; A.E.E.H.T. de I., in her capacity as Legal Advisor of the Department for the monitoring of International Human Rights C.s of said institution and legal representative of the S. by special power of attorney conferred by the A. General of the Nation, as recorded in public deed number one hundred and seventy (170) by the Public Notary of the Chamber and Government, which is registered under number one hundred and ninety-seven thousand three hundred and twenty-three dash E (197323-E) of the electronic registry of Powers of A. of the General Archive of Protocols of the Supreme Court of Justice; for the petitioner appears Mr. C.R.M.C., on behalf of himself and the M.V. family (wife and two minor children), forty-nine years of age, married, Guatemalan, merchant, of this domicile and city, who identifies himself with the identification card [XXX], issued by the...