2 “Guatemala”), which originated from petition No. 12,402, received by the Secretariat of the Commission on January 2, 2002. 2. The Commission filed the application for the Court to decide whether the State had failed to comply with its international obligations and had violated Articles 4 (Right to Life), 5 (Right to Humane Treatment), 8 (Right to a Fair Trial) and 25 (Right to a Judicial Protection) of the American Convention, all in relation to Articles 1(1) (Obligation to Respect Rights) and 2 (Domestic Legal Effects) thereof, owing to the alleged imposition of a mandatory death sentence on Ronald Ernesto Raxcacó Reyes for the crime of kidnapping or abduction, for which this punishment was not provided for by law at the time Guatemala ratified the American Convention; the allegedly disproportionate punishment imposed on him; the prison conditions in which he is being kept, and the alleged ineffectiveness of the judicial remedies filed before the local courts. The Commission also requested the Court to order the State to adopt several measures of reparation. II JURISDICTION OF THE COURT 3. Guatemala ratified the American Convention on May 25, 1978, and accepted the contentious jurisdiction of the Court on March 9, 1987. III PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COMMISSION 4. On January 28, 2002, the Center for Justice and International Law (hereinafter “CEJIL”), the Instituto de Estudios Comparados en Ciencias Penales de Guatemala (hereinafter “IECCPG”) and the Instituto de la Defensa Pública Penal (hereinafter “IDPPG”) submitted a petition to the Inter-American Commission and requested precautionary measures in favor of Mr. Raxcacó Reyes. The request for precautionary measures was subsequently reiterated. 5. On January 30, 2002, the State was informed of the Inter-American Commission’s decision to grant precautionary measures in favor of Mr. Raxcacó Reyes. 6. On October 9, 2002, during its 116th regular session, the Commission adopted Report 73/02 in which it declared the case admissible and decided to continue considering its merits. 7. On October 8, 2003, during its 118th regular session, the Commission adopted Report on Merits No. 49/03, in which it recommended that the State should: 1. Grant Ronald Raxcacó reparation, including the commutation of his sentence. 2. Adopt the necessary legislative and other measures to ensure that the death penalty is not imposed in violation of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Convention, particularly by Articles 4, 5, 8 and 25, and ensure that, in Guatemala, no one is sentenced to a mandatory death penalty. 3. Adopt the necessary legislative and other measures to ensure that the right embodied in Article 4(2) of the American Convention that the death penalty should not be imposed for crimes that it was not provided for when Guatemala deposited its ratification of the Convention is effective in Guatemala, and to adapt its legislation to this instrument, in accordance with Article 2 thereof.