12 43. Paragraph 114 of the judgment, which I have quoted above, contains a reference to the “aggravation” of State responsibility, taking into account “the circumstances in which the facts occurred.” This phrase gives rise to a comment. In criminal law it is common to speaking of aggravating circumstances or, in more modern terminology, of criminal factors that imply or underscore a more serious conduct and, on the basis of the simple or general circumstance, define a special one. In both premises, the legislator reflects, in the criminal treatment of the facts and of the person responsible, their greater seriousness taking into account information such as the rights violated (in addition of the central right subject to protection: e.g. life), the link between the perpetrator and the victim, the means or way of execution, the causes or motives, the psychological connection, or purpose of the offender (Cf. López Bolado, Jorge D., Los homicidios calificados, Plus Ultra, Buenos Aires, 1975; and Levene (h), El delito de homicidio, Depalma, Buenos Aires, 1977, pp. 173 and ff.). In the case of aggravating circumstances, it is for the trial judge to apply the consequences established in law, and in the case of an aggravated criminal offense, the law itself establishes a more severe general punishment. Lastly, within this generic punishment, it is for the court to adapt the punishment, bearing in mind the act perpetrated and the guilt of the agent. 44. All the foregoing may be considered when examining the instant case, without forgetting, obviously, that the Inter-American Court does not operate in the sphere of criminal justice, which corresponds to the domestic jurisdiction. Therefore, my observations only serve to establish an illustrative analogy. Indeed, in this hypothesis, there is an objective aggravation of the facts, inasmuch as it is significant, in view of the elements of available information to which I have already referred, that this was not an isolated crime, the product of the design of one individual, but that there was an elaborate plan to deprive the victim of her life owing to her activities – social research and dissemination of the results, which entailed a critical vision of official programs – and that security agents and officials took part in the plan. This apparatus, which had important resources of power, placed itself at the service of actions that implied violation of the victim’s most relevant right, the right to life, to terminate the tasks that she was carrying out and warn other individuals of the consequences that similar work would entail, even though it was legal according to the norms in force when the facts occurred. 45. One notable aspect of the gravity of this case resides in the obstacles created to the due investigation of the facts and the criminal prosecution of those responsible. The judgment contains a detailed description of these obstacles and of the “labyrinth” represented by the still unfinished investigation of the crime, and also the consequences of this investigation for those who took part in it and attempted to clarify the events and identify the authors. In this respect, we should recall the reports of the witnesses whose statements appear in the file, such as Rember Aroldo Larios Tobar, former head of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Guatemalan National Police (para. 127.e), and Henry Francisco Monroy Andino, former criminal trial judge (para. 127.f). In the context of these problems and their effects on the life and security of those who intervened in the tasks of investigation and prosecution, I consider it relevant that the judgment has decided that the State should honor publicly the memory of José Miguel Mérica Escobar, the member of the police force who participated in the investigation into the homicide of Mrs. Mack Chang and was assassinated (para. 279). 46. The aggravated seriousness of the facts must certainly be taken into account when making the reproach that a judgment on human rights violations implies, as in the case of this final ruling. It will be necessary to weigh this in the decisions duly