When the allegedly violated legal precept is a procedural defect, the appeal shall only be admissible if the interested party asked at the appropriate time for it to be corrected, except as regards infringements of constitutional guarantees or those occurring after debate has ended. 47. Regarding this appeal, the Commission has previously maintained that, although in some cases special appeals may be the right recourse for dealing with human rights violations, generally speaking the only remedies that need to be exhausted are those that, within the legal system, are suitable for providing the protection needed to remedy the infringement of a specific legal right. In principle, the remedies referred to are regular, not special.4 Furthermore, the Commission has pointed out that, when the petitioners argue that there have been irregularities throughout the different stages of the proceedings, in principle they do not have to exhaust an extraordinary remedy, since such remedies are not designed to correct alleged irregularities during the investigation or indictment phase of criminal proceedings.5 48. As noted above, the petitioners argued that there had been a series of irregularities and omissions during the investigative phase of criminal proceedings. In particular, the petitioners submitted arguments aimed at discrediting the investigations conducted by the respective authorities, which, they claimed, were not designed to elicit comprehensive insight into what had happened, taking all possible factors into consideration. For instance, the Commission notes that there were no inquiries into a possible connection between the death of Igmar Alexander Landaeta and that of his brother Eduardo José,6 murdered a few weeks later, allegedly by police officers of the State of Aragua, like Igmar. Accordingly, the Commission considers that the appeal remedy was not the appropriate remedy for addressing the irregularities alleged by the petitioners. 49. The Commission notes, furthermore, that the facts of the case are presented as part of a pattern of extrajudicial executions committed, using a particular modus operandi, by members of Venezuelan regional police forces, and specially in the State of Aragua. That context has been identified and recognized by the Commission7 and by Venezuelan State authorities, such as the Ombudsman’s Office8 and the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Republic.9 50. A characteristic of this pattern – in most cases – is impunity due to unwillingness to prosecute and punish perpetrators. In fact, in its annual reports, the Commission has expressed concern at statistics that would appear to point to the absence of an effective response to this phenomenon by the Office of the Attorney General and the Judiciary.10 51. The Commission notes that, in the instant case, the Public Prosecutor’s Office failed to appeal the acquittal judgment, even though it was legally entitled to do so. 52. The Commission considers that the State was obliged to conduct an ex officio investigation with all the legal means at its disposal in this case, not just because it was an allegedly criminal action but because it may also have been an extrajudicial execution in a familiar context of reiterated actions of that nature in circumstances very similar to those described in the petition. The Commission also considers that the duty to carry out a diligent investigation and punish those responsible for these facts is not restricted to just one stage in the proceedings. That obligation applies throughout the proceedings, including the appeals phase. The Commission is IACHR, Report No. 51/03, petition 11.819, Admissibility, Christian Daniel Domínguez Domenichetti, Argentina, October 24, 2003, paragraph 45. 5 IACHR, Report No. 51/03, petition 11.819, Admissibility, Christian Daniel Domínguez Domenichetti, Argentina, October 24, 2003, paragraph 45. 6 Case 12.606 – Eduardo José Landaeta Mejías -- is currently being processed by the Commission, at the merits stage. 7 IACHR, Venezuela 2003. Paragraphs 321-343. 8 Report. Ajusticiamientos y Desapariciones Forzadas. Anuario 2001 de la Defensoría del Pueblo de Venezuela [Executions and Forced Disappearances, 2001 Yearbook of the Ombudsman’s Office. http://www.defensoria.gob.ve/lista.asp?sec = 14040800002. 9 Speech by the Prosecutor General of the Republic at the presentation of the Annual Activities Report for 2005. April 25, 2006. 10 IACHR, Annual Report to the General Assembly corresponding to 2006. Chapter IV, para. 169. 4 7