4 have added that in both processes, the Office of the Prosecutor issued opinions objecting to the adoptions due to the pending proceedings, but that the Court nevertheless overruled both objections and upheld the adoption processes for both children. 18. The petitioners alleged that in 1998 adoptions in Guatemala could be done either in court or out of court. The out of court process, which was used in both adoptions, was governed by the Law Regulating Notarial Procedures of Legal Matters of a Voluntary Jurisdiction. These provisions required the certification of the corresponding birth certificate, the testimony of two honorable people accrediting the adoptive parents’ background, the report from a social worker assigned to the family court of their jurisdiction, and the opinion of the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Nation. Only if the Office of the Prosecutor objected would the competent Court be required to issue the pertinent decision. According to the petitioners, this law granted such leeway to the attorneys and notaries that it fostered the fabrication of reports, statements and evidence to facilitate irregular international adoptions, which at that time were the highest in the world. They stated that organizations such as UNICEF had reported that in Guatemala, due to the weakness of the laws, adoptions had become lucrative business transactions for the different parties involved. The petitioners have reported that the facts of this case are consistent with this context, such that Jeffrey Rainiery Arias Ramírez and Ricardo Osmín Tobar Ramírez were deprived of their family setting by international adoption networks that operate in Guatemala and were led by a lawyer closely tied to the home “Asociación de Niños de Guatemala”, who at that time was the wife of the Presiding Judge of the Supreme Court of Justice. This led to eight judges disqualifying themselves from hearing the case during the proceedings, and through influence peddling resulted in the children’s irregular adoption. 19. The adoption of the child Jeffrey Rainiery Arias Ramírez began with a power of attorney granted to a private attorney in Illinois, United States, on October 24, 1997, by a family from the United States. The power of attorney was legalized by the same notary that subsequently issued the adoption decree. The notarial procedures for the adoption of the child Arias Ramírez were processed by the private attorney and once the requirements were satisfied as regards the receipt of a favorable report from the social worker and testimony of two honorable individuals, as well as the consent of the Director of the “Asociación de Niños de Guatemala,” the Notary requested the opinion of the Office of the Prosecutor. The Office of the Prosecutor stated its objection to the adoption approval, which is why the Trial and Family Court of Sacatepequez was consulted. On May 26, 1998, the Court issued a decisions ordering that the corresponding adoption decree be issued. Once this had been done, a notary granted the adoption of Jeffrey Rainiery Arias Ramírez and the girl Josefa FS to the family in question and ordered the change of last name. On June 11, 1998, Jeffrey Rainiery was registered as the adoptive son of the family from the United States in the Civil Registry of Births of the Municipality of Guatemala. 20. According to the petitioners, the adoption of the child Ricardo Osmín Tobar Ramírez began with the granting of a power of attorney to a private attorney in the city of Pittsburg, United States on February 5, 1998 by a family from the United States. The power of attorney was legalized by the same notary that subsequently issued the adoption decree. The notarial procedures for the child Tobar Ramírez were processed by a private attorney and once the requirements were satisfied as regards the receipt of a favorable report from the social worker and testimony of two honorable individuals, as well as the consent of the Director of the “Asociación de Niños de Guatemala,” the Notary requested the opinion of the Office of the Prosecutor. The Office of the Prosecutor stated its objection to the adoption approval, which is why the Trial and Family Court of Saquatepequez was consulted. On May 26, 1998, the Court issued a decision ordering that the corresponding adoption decree be issued. Once the foregoing had been done, a notary—the same one who had participated in the adoption of Jeffrey Rainiery Arias Ramírez—granted the adoption of Ricardo Osmín Tobar Ramírez and the child Erik AS to the family in question and ordered the change of last name. On June 11, 1998, Ricardo Osmín was registered as the adoptive son of the other family from the United States in the Civil Registry of Births of the Municipality of Guatemala. 21. The four children left for the United States in July 1998.