Impunity is an invitation to commit new crimes.

Juan Garcés, Right Livelihood Award

INTRODUCTION

On July 1, 2026, Juan Garcés will be a guest in Bochum at the invitation of the Fritz Bauer Forum; you can find all the details about the event here.

Juan (Joan E.) Garcés Ramón, usually known simply as Juan Garcés, may not be the most recognizable figure on the world stage. Nevertheless, he was largely responsible for the issuance of an arrest warrant against the dictator Augusto Pinochet and is therefore considered one of the most influential legal figures in the fight against impunity for state-sponsored violent crimes. As a personal advisor to Chilean President Salvador Allende, he was a direct witness to the military coup of September 11, 1973. This experience is the foundation of his commitment to the legal prosecution of crimes against humanity.

THE STORY

Garcés was born in 1944 in Llíria, near Valencia, Spain. Little is known about his early life, but his academic career led him to the fields of political science and law. As part of his doctoral studies, he spent time in Chile researching the structural conditions necessary for a potential electoral victory by left-wing forces. His thesis regarding Salvador Allende’s electoral victory ultimately proved correct in 1970. [1][2]

While working on his dissertation, Garcés met Salvador Allende in person. After Allende won the election, Garcés became part of the political circle of the Unidad Popular and served as an advisor to the new president. The Unidad Popular was a coalition of centrist and left-wing parties in Chile. It was founded on October 9, 1969, and nominated Salvador Allende as its presidential candidate; he was elected the new president on September 4, 1970, and was tasked with implementing the “Chilean path to socialism.”[3] Garcés played a special role in this and sometimes described himself as Allende’s closest advisor („el más cercano, el asesor personal“) [4] [5].

During this period, Garcés conducted an analysis of the political structures within Chile. He argued that the Popular Unity government was based on broad democratic legitimacy. According to him, the equating of socialist reform policies with dictatorship and Stalinism during the Cold War was more a reflection of power dynamics than of the actual reality in Chile. [6]

September 11, 1973, however, marked a dramatic turning point in Garcés’ career. When the Chilean military, led by Augusto Pinochet, bombed the La Moneda presidential palace, Garcés was inside the building with Allende. He was among the last people to see Allende alive. Shortly before the attack, Allende urged those remaining inside to get to safety. After initially resisting, Garcés says that, at Allende’s request, he was more or less pushed out of the building rather than leaving of his own accord. This was done to ensure that someone would survive the attack and be able to bear witness to the events. [7] [8] 

On the very day of the coup, the military publicly demanded that Garcés turn himself in; two days later, he was wanted by the authorities. With the help of the Spanish Embassy, he managed to flee into exile, a move that not only saved his own life but also marked the beginning of a new phase in his career. Allende had expressly asked him to report to the global public on the events in Chile, and Garcés viewed this task as a moral obligation.[9] [10]

Juan Garcés at an event organized by the Fritz Bauer Forum at the Bochum Justice Center, November 30, 2023. © FRITZ BAUER FORUM | BUXUS STIFTUNG, Photographer: Richard Lensit

While in exile in France, Garcés resumed his academic and advisory work. He served as a lecturer and as an advisor to the Director-General of UNESCO. During this time, he published analyses of the Allende government and the circumstances surrounding its overthrow. His work aimed to counterbalance oversimplified interpretations of the events. At the same time, a system of massive repression and human rights violations developed in Chile under the military dictatorship. It is estimated that during Pinochet’s rule, approximately 200,000 people were tortured, around 3,000 were murdered, and about 1,000 were forcibly “disappeared.” The term “enforced disappearance” refers to an instrument of political repression often used in military dictatorships. People are held captive in secret locations and tortured or killed there; their relatives receive no information about the person’s whereabouts [11]. For Garcés, coming to terms with these crimes increasingly became a personal mission. [12] [13]

After the end of Franco’s dictatorship, Garcés returned to his native Spain. In 1981, he became a member of the Madrid Bar Association, and in 1982 he founded his own law firm. He had previously been a member of the Socialist Party, which had organized much of the opposition to Franco. In doing so, he remained loyal to Allende’s political influence.

A legal framework for Garcés’s efforts emerged in 1985 through a Spanish law that granted victims of genocide, terrorism, and torture access to Spanish courts, regardless of their nationality or the location of the crime. This law laid the groundwork for the application of the principle of universal jurisdiction.[14]

On July 4, 1996, Garcés filed a criminal complaint in Madrid against Augusto Pinochet and other members of the junta for crimes against humanity. He acted on behalf of the victims’ relatives, who had asked him to represent them. He often did not charge a fee for his representation in court, as many of those affected had limited financial means. In total, he represented nearly 4,000 victims in over 3,000 cases involving murder and torture.

The investigation lasted several years. In 1998, Pinochet was in London, and an international arrest warrant was issued based on the Spanish investigation. As a result, Pinochet was arrested in London on October 16, 1998. It was the first time a former head of state had been arrested under the principle of universal jurisdiction.[15] [16]

The international reaction was divided. While human rights organizations and numerous legal experts hailed the decision as a historic breakthrough, others raised concerns about state immunity. Garcés expressly warned against granting heads of state immunity for crimes against humanity, as this would benefit the perpetrators. On March 24, 1999, the British House of Lords ruled that Pinochet could not claim immunity for criminal acts. This decision paved the way for a possible extradition, but in March 2000, the British government terminated the proceedings, citing Pinochet’s health problems, and allowed him to return to Chile.

Despite his release from prison, the case had far-reaching consequences. In Chile itself, numerous investigations were launched in the wake of the case, and hundreds of legal proceedings were initiated against those responsible for the dictatorship. The case demonstrated that, under certain conditions, international justice and jurisdiction can break the vicious cycle of impunity.

Garcés continued his legal work. In 2005, he secured a compensation payment of over eight million U.S. dollars from Riggs Bank in Washington, where numerous accounts linked to Pinochet had been identified. The funds benefited more than 22,000 victims of the junta in Chile. In 2022, he secured compensation related to the Clarín newspaper, which had been confiscated in 1973, and the following year, his efforts were officially recognized by the Chilean Chamber of Deputies.

Garcés continued his legal work. In 2005, he secured a compensation payment of over eight million U.S. dollars from Riggs Bank in Washington, where numerous accounts linked to Pinochet had been identified. The funds benefited more than 22,000 victims of the junta in Chile. In 2022, he secured compensation related to the Clarín newspaper, which had been confiscated in 1973, and the following year, his efforts were officially recognized by the Chilean Chamber of Deputies..[17]

According to Garcés, the testimonies of those affected are marked by great emotional intensity. His central goal is therefore to establish, through international cooperation, a precedent for the prosecution of crimes against humanity. The quote “Impunity is an invitation to commit new crimes” underscores this stance. By combining his personal testimony, scholarly analysis, and legal action, Juan Garcés thus embodies a steadfast form of resistance aimed at upholding universal principles of law. [18]

At the invitation of the Fritz Bauer Forum, Juan Garcés gave a lecture on November 30, 2023, at the Bochum Justice Center on the topic “The Fight Against Impunity for Crimes Against Humanity.” You can find the lecture on YouTube.

Author: Aaron Elias Gabryszczak

Contact: info@fritz-bauer-forum.de

Sources:

• BBC News: UK Mixed reaction to Pinochet result, in: BBC News, 29.9.1999, URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/203384.stm, retrieved 4.3.2026.
• Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile, URL: https://www.bcn.cl/historiapolitica/partidos_politicos/wiki/Unidad_Popular, retrieved 22.05.2026.
• Chávez Bravo, Cristóbal: Palabra Publica. El español que le contó al mundo sobre la Unidad Popular, URL: https://palabrapublica.uchile.cl/el-espanol-que-le-conto-al-mundo-sobre-la-unidad-popular/ retrieved 04.03.2026.
• Deutsches Institut für Menschenrechte, URL: https://www.institut-fuer-menschenrechte.de/themen/rechtsstaat/verschwindenlassen, retrieved 22.05.2026.
• Gooch, Adela: The lawyer who wouldn’t forget, in: The Guardian, 2.2.1999, URL: https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/feb/02/pinochet.chile, retrieved 4.3.2026.
• Nash, Elisabeth: The man who is Pinochet’s nemesis, in: The Independent, 26.9.1999, URL: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/the-man-who-is-pinochet-s-nemesis-1122493.html, retrieved 4.3.2026.
• Right Livelihood: Laureates. Juan Garcés, URL: https://rightlivelihood.org/the-change-makers/find-a-laureate/juan-garces/ retrieved 04.03.2026.
• Rodríguez, Olga: Joan Garcés: „La campaña mediática chilena financiada en parte por la CIA fue clave para lograr el golpe militar”, in: elDiario.es, 10.9.2023, URL: https://www.eldiario.es/internacional/joan-garces-campana-mediatica-chilena-financiada-parte-cia-clave-lograr-golpe-militar_128_10502089.html, retrieved 4.3.2026.
• Werner, Alain; Tallec, Isabelle: The Pinochet case: Juan Garcés‘ fight against impunity, in: Civitas Maximas, 22.10.2024, URL: https://civitas-maxima.org/the-pinochet-case-juan-garces-fight-against-impunity/, retrieved 4.3.2026.
• Wolff, Reinhard: Diktatoren das Fürchten gelehrt, in: TAZ, 1.10.1999, URL: https://taz.de/Diktatoren-das-Fuerchten-gelehrt/!1268742/, retrieved 4.3.2026.

Header image: © FRITZ BAUER FORUM | BUXUS STIFTUNG, Photographer: Richard Lensit

Footnotes: