20. Finally, the Salvadoran State contends that, because of the reservations made by the State
regarding its acceptance of the contentious jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court and
regarding what was established by the Court in its judgment about preliminary objections in
the case of the Serrano Cruz sisters, the case of the disappearance of José Adrián Rochac
Hernández could not come under the jurisdiction of said court.
IV.
ANALYSIS OF ADMISSIBILITY
A.
Jurisdiction ratione loci, ratione personae,
materiae of the Inter-American Commission
ratione
temporis
andratione
21. Under the terms of Article 44 of the American Convention, the petitioners are in their
lawful right to address a petition to the Commission. The petition that is being examined
indicates that the alleged victim was subject to the jurisdiction of the Salvadoran State at the
time of the alleged incidents. Regarding the State, the Commission notes that El Salvador is a
State Party to the American Convention, having duly deposited its instrument of ratification on
June 23, 1978. As a consequence, the Commission has jurisdiction ratione personae to hear
the complaints that were filed.
22. Furthermore, the Commission has jurisdiction ratione materiae because the petitioners
claim violations of rights protected in the framework of the American Convention. The State
argues that International Humanitarian Law was the applicable law during the domestic armed
conflict. Regarding this, the Commission contends that it is not precluded from ruling on the
reported incidents merely because some of them might have occurred in the context of an
armed conflict. Article 27 of the Convention entitles the State to derogate certain obligations in
the context of armed conflicts but in no way does it suspend the force of the Convention in its
entirety nor does it abridge the present Commission’s powers. The foregoing notwithstanding,
in the merits stage of the case, the IACHR must examine the State’s obligations stemming
from the Convention, in the light of the provisions of International Humanitarian Law, which
shall serve to interpret the case partially as lex specialis.
23.The Commission has jurisdiction ratione temporis to examine the complaints. The petition is
based on allegations about incidents taking place as of August 25, 1982, which is the date
when José Adrián Rochac Hernández disappeared. The alleged incidents therefore took place
after the entry into force of the obligations of the State as Party to the American Convention.
In addition, as the petition alleges violations of rights protected in the framework of the
American Convention in incidents taking place in the territory of a State Party, the Commission
concludes that it has jurisdiction ratione loci to hear the petition.
B.
1.
Requirements for the petition’s admissibility
of domestic remedies
24.The State alleges that the present case is inadmissible because domestic remedies in El
Salvador have not been exhausted. It notes that, in this regard, there are criminal proceedings
in the investigative stage, and therefore the resolution of domestic remedies is still pending.
Likewise, it points out that available remedies were not exhausted on a timely basis, such as
the writ of habeas corpus, complaint filed with the International Committee of the Red Cross
and the Government Commission on Human Rights. In this regard, the State points out that a
motion for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus was filed in 2002, although this motion
could have been filed at any earlier time, and that this motion was dismissed for lack of
presentation of evidence by the complainants.
25.As for the petitioners, they claim that the domestic remedies are ineffectual, although
despite this they have attempted all possible means, including a motion for the issuance of a
writ of habeas corpus to determine the whereabouts of José Adrián Rochac Hernández. The
petitioners emphasize that more than 25 years have elapsed since the disappearance of José
Adrián Rochac Hernández and that Salvadoran authorities have done nothing to guarantee the
5