2 4. After examining the parties’ positions, the Inter-American Commission concluded that the Argentine State bears international responsibility for maintaining a juvenile justice system under which juvenile offenders can be treated the same as adult offenders. As a result, César Alberto Mendoza, Claudio David Núñez, Lucas Matías Mendoza, Saúl Cristián Roldán Cajal and Ricardo David Videla Fernández were sentenced to prison time and life imprisonment for events that occurred when they were still children. These sentences were imposed in blatant disregard for the international standards that apply in the case of juvenile criminal justice, particularly that imprisonment shall only be used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time; they also disregard the State’s obligation to ensure a regular review with a view to the possibility of release, giving special consideration to the rehabilitative purpose that a sentence in intended to serve to allow juvenile offenders to become constructive members of society. Thus, the sentences of prison time and life imprisonment were imposed arbitrarily and were incompatible with the American Convention. The problem was compounded by the restrictive interpretation of the scope of the review possible by means of the motions of cassation that the victims filed, which was that issues of fact and the weighing of evidence could not be examined by means of such motions. This sealed the injustice done with the sentences of prison time and life imprisonment that the adolescents received. 5. The Commission also concluded that Ricardo David Videla Fernández and Saúl Cristián Roldán Cajal were subjected to inhumane conditions of imprisonment incompatible with human dignity, a situation that resulted in the death of Ricardo David Videla Fernández without the State having taken reasonable measures to prevent his death and, once it happened, to properly investigate it. The Commission further concluded that Lucas Matías Mendoza lost his sight because the State failed to provide him with medical treatment to prevent his vision from deteriorating further. Finally, the Commission concluded that Claudio David Núñez and Lucas Matías Mendoza were victims of acts of torture which the State never properly investigated. 6. After examining the parties’ positions, the Commission concludes that the Argentine State is responsible for violation of the rights recognized in articles 5, 7, 8, 19 and 25 of the American Convention in relation to the obligations established in articles 1(1) and 2 thereof. Furthermore, in keeping with the principle of jura novit curia the Commission also finds that the State is responsible for violation of 4 Article 4 of the American Convention, and articles 1, 6 and 8 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent 5 and Punish Torture , all to the detriment to the victims named in the respective sections of the present report. II. PROCESSING BY THE COMMISSION A. Processing of the case subsequent to Admissibility Report 26/08 st 7. On March 14, 2008, during its 131 regular session, the Commission approved Admissibility Report No. 26/08, in which it decided to declare the petition admissible with respect to the alleged violations of articles 5 (right to humane treatment), 7 (right to personal liberty), 8 (right to a fair trial), 19 (rights of the child), and 25 (right to judicial protection) of the American Convention, all in relation to articles 1(1) (obligation to respect and ensure rights) and 2 (the obligation to adopt measures under domestic law) thereof. 8. Notification of the admissibility report was sent to the parties on March 17, 2008. In that same communication, they were informed that the petition had been registered as Case No. 12,651. The 4 The Commission included an analysis of Article 4 of the American Convention in this report because once the merits phase of the case was underway, it received additional information, including the court record supplied by the State in connection with the internal investigations conducted into the death of Ricardo David Videla Fernández. The Commission should also point out that the State had the opportunity to contest the petitioners’ allegations regarding the failure to protect the victim prior to his death and its failure to conduct a serious investigation into his death. 5 The Commission is including an analysis of articles 1, 6 and 8 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture inasmuch as there is a sufficient nexus to the allegations made with regard to Article 5 of the American Convention, included in the admissibility phase.