3
reiterated its request. On November 26, 1997, the State reported that another motion had
been brought. On December 18, 1997, the Inter-American Commission requested from the
State all information relevant to the case, and the president of the Supreme Court of Justice
responded with report no. 2914. The Commission again reiterated its request for
precautionary measures on February 9, 1998, however the execution was carried out the
following day (infra para. 54).
c.
Admissibility and Merits Report. On June 17, 2002, the Commission informed the
parties that in accordance with Article 37(3) of the Rules of Procedure then in force, it had
decided to postpone addressing admissibility until the discussion on the merits; for this
reason, it granted the petitioner a period of two months to present additional observations
on the merits. On December 15, 2003, the Commission gave the State two months to present
additional observations on the merits. On March 26, 2004, the State presented those
observations. On July 5, 2017, the Commission released Admissibility and Merits Report No.
78/17 (hereinafter “Admissibility and Merits Report” or “the Report”), in accordance with
Article 50 of the American Convention, in which it set out a series of conclusions 2 as well as
various recommendations for the State.3
d.
Notification to the state. The Commission notified the State of the Report on August
30, 2017, giving it two months to report back on its compliance with the recommendations.
The State did not respond during the time period indicated.
3.
Submission to the Court. On November 30, 2017, the Commission submitted to the Court
all the facts and the alleged human rights violations described in the Admissibility and Merits
Report.4
4.
Requests of the Commission. Based on the above, the Commission asked the Court to decide
and declare the international responsibility of Guatemala for the alleged violation of the rights
specified in the Admissibility and Merits Report. Furthermore, the Commission asked the Court to
order the State to carry out certain measures of reparation, which will be detailed and analyzed in
the pertinent chapter.
The Commission concluded that the State of Guatemala is responsible for the violation of Articles 4(1), 4(2), 8(1),
8(2)(c), 8(2)(e), 25(1), and 9 of the American Convention, in relation to the general obligations set forth in its Articles 1(1)
and 2, to the detriment of Mr. Martínez Coronado.
3
The Commission recommended that the State: “1. Comprehensively remedy the human rights violations declared
in the [...R]eport, including both pecuniary and non-pecuniary aspects. The measures of reparation shall include fair
compensation as well as measures of satisfaction, if applicable, in consultation with the relatives of Manuel Martínez
Coronado. In the event that the relatives are not located despite every effort having been made to find them, the
[Commission] recommends that the pecuniary component of the reparation be given to the Legal Assistance Fund. 2. Adopt
the legislative measures necessary for conclusively eliminating from Guatemalan criminal legislation the concept of
dangerousness as a factor for determining sentencing after criminal responsibility has been established. 3. Adopt measures
necessary to enhance the effectiveness of the public defense, especially in cases involving the possible imposition of severe
sentences. 4. [...] adopt the measures necessary for domestic legislation to be consistent with this practice, thus continuing
on the path toward abolishing the death penalty.” Cf. IACHR, Report No. 78/17 (Admissibility and Merits), Case 11.834
Manuel Martínez Coronado (Guatemala), OEA/Ser.L/V/II.163, Doc. 91, July 5, 2017. Available in Spanish at:
http://www.oas.org/es/cidh/decisiones/corte/2017/11834FondoEs.pdf
4
The Commission appointed as delegates for this case Luis Ernesto Vargas Silva, Commissioner, and Paulo Abrão,
Executive Registrar of the Commission, and as advisors Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, Assistant Executive Registrar, and Silvia
Serrano Guzmán and Christian González Chacón, attorneys of the Executive Secretariat of the IACHR.
2