THE RIGHT TO THE TRUTH AS AN AUTONOMOUS RIGHT UNDER THE INTER-AMERICAN HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM

Abstract

The evolution of Inter-American Court case law and the advances made by international bodies and instruments, as well as those in domestic legislation, clearly reveal that the right to the truth is now recognized as an autonomous and independent right. Although this right is not expressly included in the American Convention, it does not prevent the Inter-American Court from being able to examine any alleged violation of this right, and declaring that it has been violated, according to Article 29 of the Pact of San José. The author of this opinion considers that although the right to the truth is mainly related to the right of access to justice derived from Articles 8 and 25 of the American Convention, it should not necessarily remain subsumed in the examination of the other violations of the rights to the judicial guarantees and judicial protection that were declared in a case because this understanding encourages the distortion of the essence and intrinsic content of each right. The author considers that the Inter-American Court should reconsider its criteria regarding the fact that the right to the truth is necessarily “subsumed” in the victims’ and their families’ right to have the competent State bodies elucidate the violations and corresponding responsibilities, in order to proceed, when appropriate, to declare its violation as an autonomous and independent right. This would clarify the content, dimensions and true scope of the right to know the truth.

Del avance jurisprudencial de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos y del desarrollo de los órganos e instrumentos internacionales y ordenamientos jurídicos internos, se desprende con claridad que el derecho a la verdad actualmente es reconocido como un derecho autónomo e independiente. Si bien el referido derecho no se encuentra contenido de forma expresa en la Convención Americana, ello no impide que la Corte Interamericana pueda examinar una alegada violación al respecto y declarar su violación, de conformidad con los alcances del artículo 20 del Pacto de San José. El autor considera que el derecho a la verdad si bien está relacionado principalmente con el derecho de acceso a la justicia —derivado de los artículos 8 y 25 de la Convención—, no debe necesariamente quedar subsumido en el examen realizado en las demás violaciones a los derechos referentes a las garantías judiciales y de protección judicial ya que este entendimiento propicia la desnaturalización, esencia y contenido propio de cada derecho. Lo anterior clarificaría el contenido, dimensiones y verdaderos alcances del derecho a conocer la verdad.