3 as well as for the irregular actions [allegedly] taken by the judicial authority charged with the criminal inquiry against the defendants accused by the Office of the Public Prosecutor, all of which [allegedly] contributed to absolute impunity in the cases under analysis.” 7. Furthermore, the Commission asked the Inter-American Court to order the State, under Article 63(1) of the Convention, to take certain measures of reparation detailed in the application. Lastly, the Commission requested the Court to order the State to pay legal expenses and costs arising from the domestic legal proceedings and from the proceedings before the Inter-American System. II JURISDICTION 8. The Court has jurisdiction to hear the instant case pursuant to Article 62(3) of the Convention, as Venezuela has been a State Party to the American Convention since August 9, 1977 and has accepted the contentious jurisdiction of the Court on June 24, 1981. III PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COMMISSION 9. On March 3, 2000 the Comité de Familiares de Víctimas de los Sucesos de Febrero-Marzo de 1989 (Committee of Next of Kin of the Victims of the Events of February-March 1989) (hereinafter “COFAVIC”) and the Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional (Center for Justice and International Law) (hereinafter “CEJIL”) filed a petition before the Inter-American Commission, which was processed under number 12.256, for the alleged forced disappearance of Mr. Oscar José Blanco-Romero. On that same date, the Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos (Venezuelan Program of Education-Action on Human Rights) (hereinafter “PROVEA”) filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission, which was processed under number 12.258, for the alleged forced disappearance of Mr. Roberto Javier Hernández-Paz. 10. On July 10, 2000, the Human Rights Episcopal Vicarship of the Caracas Archdiocese (hereinafter “the Episcopal Vicarship”) and CEJIL filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission, which was processed under number 12.258, for the alleged forced disappearance of Mr. José Francisco Rivas-Fernández. 11. On October 10, 2001, during its 113th regular session, the Commission approved Admissibility Reports 90/01, 91/01 and 92/01, whereby it declared cases 12.256, 12.258 and 12.307 admissible, respectively. On October 19, 2001, the Commission held itself available to the parties in order to reach a friendly settlement. 12. During its 118th regular session, the Commission, under the provisions of Article 29(d) of its Rules of Procedure, decided to join the three above-mentioned cases and address the issues in the same report on the merits.