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British Ruling on Pinochet Sets New Precedent
Members of the British House of Lords ruled on March 24, 1999 that former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet is not immune from prosecution for alleged human rights atrocities; but the panel also reduced the number of charges from 32 to 3.
Start Date: 3/25/99
A carefully balanced ruling by a seven-member panel of the British House of Lords on March 24, 1999 sets a new international precedent with respect to the limits of diplomatic immunity.
The ruling held that General Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator who is widely believed to have committed numerous human rights atrocities during his 17-year regime, is not immune from arrest and prosecution for internationally recognized crimes, including murder, torture and conspiracy to commit torture.
It was the first time a national court had denied immunity to a foreign head of state accused of international crimes.
Pinochet, now a Chilean "Senator for life," has been in detention in England since his arrest last October 16 on a warrant issued by Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon. Garson's warrant sought Pinochet's extradition to Spain to face charges of genocide and torture. In light of the new ruling, Garzon can now proceed with his efforts to extradite Pinochet to Spain to stand trial.
However, the House of Lords panel also reduced the number of applicable charges in the extradition warrant from 32 to just 3. Most of the charges related to acts of torture allegedly committed by Pinochet or his henchmen prior to 1988, the year England recognized torture as an extraditable crime. Pinochet's rule ended in 1990.
Pinochet's supporters hailed the ruling because nearly all the charges were dropped. Pinochet himself said he was satisfied and predicted that Garzon would not succeed in extraditing the 83-year-old Senator on the remaining three charges.
Some Pinochet opponents, however, expressed confidence that Garzon's efforts would succeed. In any case, the House of Lords ruling "gives a message to all the dictators around the world that they cannot carry on killing innocent people," said Mario Alcayaga, a Chilean expatriot who fled Pinochet's regime in 1974.
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