Vargas v. Chile
Key Judgment
Legal Relevance
Keywords: Effective Remedy | Amnesties | Admissibility
Themes: Memory and Reparations | Justice and Truth
The Committee noted that the acts giving rise to the claims related to the death of the victim took place prior to the international entry into force of the Covenant and prior to the entry into force of the Optional Protocol for Chile. For this reason, the Committee considered the claims inadmissible on the grounds of the ratione temporis reservation.
Judgment Date
July 26, 1999
Country
Chile
Judicial Body
Human Rights Committee
Articles not violated / not dealt with
Article 2 [ICCPR], Article 5 [ICCPR], Article 14(1) [ICCPR], Article 15(1) [ICCPR], Article 15(2) [ICCPR], Article 16 [ICCPR], Article 26 [ICCPR]
Facts of the Case
Mr. Dagoberto Pérez Vargas disappeared in 1973 and was later confirmed to have been killed that year. On 16 October 1973, an armed confrontation occurred between members of the now defunct Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional and members of the rebel group MIR of which Mr. Pérez Vargas was a member. It was assumed that he was killed in the encounter, as his body was never recovered. Victim’s relatives were never notified of the whereabouts of the body and the circumstances of his death.