IACHR Files Application Before Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Case Concerning Peru About Enforcing Court Decisions on the Right to a Pension

December 14, 2023

Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) filed on September 10, 2023, an application before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Case 13,257, with regard to Peru. This case concerns enforcing court decisions in favor of the right of Eduardo Nicolás Cuadra Bravo to receive a pension, as well as the failure to take measures to implement those decisions.

Eduardo Nicolás Cuadra Bravo started working at the financial institution Banco de la Nación in 1970, under labor Act 11377. In 1971, his contract was terminated and he was hired by the bank again under Act 4916. In 1991, the bank placed him under a pension scheme in line with Decree 20530, acknowledging seniority amounting to 20 years, 5 months, and 28 days for his work at the bank until November 1990. This decision was revoked in 1992, arguing that Cuadra did not meet the requirements to be included in the scheme.

After appealing this administrative resolution, Eduardo Nicolás Cuadra Bravo resigned in June 1994 from Banco de la Nación, where he was a deputy manager at the time. He received no response, so he filed a writ of amparo in July 1994, over what he regarded as a harmful silence procedure. The Seventeenth Civil Law Court in Lima ruled that the appeal was well-founded and ordered that the bank grant Cuadra a retirement pension, with the applicable interest. This decision was revoked in October 1995, and the revocation was confirmed in September 1997 by Peru's Supreme Court of Justice.

After various complaints—including extraordinary appeals, annulment requests, and regular appeal proceedings, as well as requests filed before the Ombudsperson's Office and letters sent to the president of the Constitutional Court—the Sixth Civilian Chamber of the High Court in Lima admitted in 2003 a second writ of amparo filed by Cuadra Bravo. This chamber ordered that Banco de la Nación issue a resolution to place Cuadra back into the pension scheme set up by Decree 20530 and to pay him any sums omitted in the past.

Despite this decision, controversy about its enforcement persisted in the following years and even included a Banco de la Nación resolution requiring that Cuadra pay back certain sums that he was said to have been wrongfully paid.

After assessing this case, the Commission found that the State had violated several of Eduardo Nicolás Cuadra Bravo's rights, including his rights to effective judicial protection, timely decisions, social security, personal integrity, and property. The Commission noted the failure to implement coercive mechanisms to enforce court decisions in other similar cases in Peru and said that this case reflects a structural problem that so far has not been adequately addressed by the State. Finally, the IACHR said that persistent controversy concerning the enforcement of this decision had affected Eduardo Nicolás Cuadra Bravo's assets, and therefore his right to property.

The IACHR therefore concluded that the State of Peru was liable for violations of the victim's rights to a fair trial, to judicial protection, to social security, to personal integrity, and to private property held in Articles 8.1, 25.1, 25.2(c), 26, 5, and 21 of the American Convention on Human Rights, concerning the obligations held in Articles 1.1 and 2 of that instrument.

The Commission therefore recommended that the State of Peru adopt the following reparation measures:

1. Fully enforce the court decision of July 24, 2003, which requires immediate payment of a retirement pension to Eduardo Nicolás Cuadra Bravo as established by the court, with a swift and definitive calculation of the sum he is to be paid and paying all sums unduly omitted in the past
2. Provide comprehensive reparations for all rights violations mentioned in the report, both material and immaterial
3. Adopt any legislative measures or measures of any other kind needed to ensure non-recurrence of the rights violations mentioned in the report (in particular, ensuring that court decisions are enforced in a simple and timely manner and legally enabling judicial authorities to apply any corrective mechanisms to ensure compliance with court decisions)

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 293/23

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