Report No. 45 (1998) IACHR. Petition No. 11.855 (Trinidad y Tobago)

• Report Number: 45
• Petition Number: 11.855
• Case Type: Admissibility
• Respondent State: Trinidad & Tobago
• Court: Inter-American Comission of Human Rights
• Alleged Victim: Anthony García

REPORT Nº 45/98; CASE 11.855; ANTHONY GARCIA; TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO; September 25, 1998 I. BACKGROUND 1. By letter dated December 16, 1997, Mr. C.W. of the London firm S. Rutter & Co. (now Collyer & Bristow) presented a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter "the Commission") against the Republic of T.a.T. (hereinafter "the S." or "Trinidad") on behalf of Mr. A.G., presently under sentence of death at the S.P. in Port of Spain. The petition stated that Mr. Garcia was convicted of the offence of murder of Mr. C.R. and sentenced to death on October 30, 1996. 2. S. with the presentation of the complaint, the A. requested the Commission to issue precautionary measures, pursuant to article 29(2) of its Regulations, and to seek a stay of execution pending the determination of the complaint by the Commission. On December 19, 1997, the Commission requested the S. to stay Mr. Garcia's execution "until such time as the Commission has had the opportunity to consider this case and issue its decision." The Commission requested "an immediate consent to the above request." 3. The S. of T.a.T. did not respond to this request for precautionary measures. The Commission regrets that the S. party was not prepared to grant the precautionary measures requested under article 29(2) of its Regulations, and to guarantee that the Petitioner would not be executed while his case was under examination. In fact, however, as of September 25, 1998, the petitioner has not been executed. The Commission observes that it is not for the S. party, but for the Commission, to decide whether or not a complaint is admissible. The Commission requests the S. to cooperate fully with the Commission's examination of communications in the future. II. PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COMMISSION 4. Mr. Garcia's appeal to the Court of Appeal of the Republic of T.a.T. was dismissed on May 22, 1997. Mr. Garcia's appeal against his conviction for murder and the death sentence were dismissed by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on December 4, 1997. 5. The complaint alleges that the following articles of the American Convention were violated by the S. of Trinidad and T. to the detriment of the A.: articles 8, 4 and 5 of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter the "Convention" or "the American Convention"). S., the petitioners allege serious violations as regards the right to legal representation in a capital case. The petition alleges, inter alia, that the petitioner "had no contact with legal counsel until 4 weeks after his arrest." In addition, he alleges that "he was inadequately consulted during the preliminary hearing and throughout his trial and as such he was given an inadequate opportunity to consult with counsel." The petitioner further submits that he has suffered a grave and substantial miscarriage of justice in that the jury was given an inaccurate direction on self-defense and as such these misdirections violated his rights to a fair trial. The petitioner also states that he had to wait two years and one month before the...