c) Report on the Merits. – On April 2, 2014, the Commission approved the Report on Merits No. 7/14,3 pursuant to Article 50 of the Convention (hereinafter also “the Merits Report” or “Report No. 7/14”), in which it reached a number of conclusions and made several recommendations to the State: a. Conclusions. – The Commission concluded that the State was responsible for: • • • the violation of the right to life enshrined in Article 4(1) of the American Convention in conjunction with Article 1(1) thereof, to the detriment of María Inés Chinchilla Sandoval. the violation of the right to personal integrity enshrined in Article 5(1) of the American Convention, in conjunction with Article 1(1) thereof, to the detriment of María Inés Chinchilla Sandoval. the violation of judicial guarantees and judicial protection enshrined in Articles 8(1) and 25 of the American Convention, in conjunction with Article 1(1) and 2 thereof, to the detriment of María Inés Chinchilla Sandoval and her next of kin. b. Recommendations. The Commission made the following recommendations to the State: 1. 2. 3. Provide full reparation for the human rights violations declared in the report, including both material and moral dimensions. Carry out and complete an impartial, thorough and effective investigation, as soon as possible, in order to establish criminal and other responsibilities for the violations established in the report. Adopt non-repetition measures, including: i) a guarantee of timely access to adequate medical treatment at the Women´s Orientation Center; ii) a guarantee of adequate conditions of confinement for persons with disabilities at the Women´s Orientation Center, in accordance with the standards described in this report; iii) institutional strengthening and training for judicial authorities responsible for the enforcement of sentences, to ensure that they effectively perform their role as guarantors of the rights of persons deprived of their liberty; and iv) adoption of rules on a prompt and effective judicial remedy to protect the rights to life and humane treatment where the health needs of persons deprived of their liberty are concerned. d) Notification of the State. – On May 19, 2014, the Merits Report was notified to the State, which was granted two months to provide information on compliance with the recommendations. The State forwarded a report indicating that it did not commit the violations of the American Convention declared in the Merits Report, and argued that it was therefore not appropriate to impose measures of reparation in favor of Mrs. Chinchilla. 3. Submission to the Court. – On August 19, 2014, the Commission submitted the instant case to the Court given “the need to obtain justice for the [presumed] victim.” 4 4. Requests of the Inter-American Commission. Based on the above, the Commission asked this Court to declare the international responsibility of the State for the violation of the rights indicated in the conclusions of its Merits Report and to order the measures of reparation described in the report’s recommendations (supra para. 2). Cf. IACHR, Merits Report No. 7/14, Case 12.739, María Inés Chinchilla Sandoval et al., Guatemala, April 2, 2014 (File before the Commission, volume III, folios 2144 to 2203). Available at: http://www.oas.org/es/cidh/Decisiones/corte/12739MeritsEs.pdf 3 The Commission appointed Commissioner James Cavallaro and Executive Secretary Emilio Álvarez Icaza L. as its delegates before the Court, and appointed Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, Deputy Executive Secretary, Silvia Serrano Guzmán and Jorge Humberto Meza F., lawyers of the Executive Secretariat, as legal advisers. 4 5