Inter-American Court of Human Rights Case of the “Las Dos Erres” Massacre v. Guatemala∗ Judgment of November 24, 2009 (Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations, and Costs) In the Case of the “Las Dos Erres” Massacre, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Court” or “the InterAmerican Court”), composed of the following judges: Cecilia Medina Quiroga, President; Diego García-Sayán, Vice-President; Sergio García Ramírez, Judge; Manuel E. Ventura Robles, Judge; Margarette May Macaulay, Judge; Rhadys Abreu Blondet, Judge, and Ramón Cadena Rámila, Judge ad hoc; also present, Emilia Segares Rodríguez, Deputy Secretary; pursuant to Articles 62(3) and 63(1) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” or “the American Convention”) and Articles 30, 32, 38, 59, 60, and 61 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure (hereinafter “the Rules of Procedure”)∗∗, delivers the present Judgment. I INTRODUCTION OF THE CASE AND MATTER OF THE DISPUTE 1. On July 30, 2008, in accordance with Articles 51 and 61 of the American Convention, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Commission” or “the Inter-American Commission”) submitted an application to the Court against the Republic of Guatemala (hereinafter “the State” or “Guatemala”). The initial petition was submitted to the Commission by the Office of Human Rights of the Archdiocese of Guatemala (ODHAG) and the Center for Justice and International Law (hereinafter “CEJIL”)1 on September 13, 1996.2 On April 1, 2000, the State and ∗ Due to reasons of force majeure, Judge Leonardo A. Franco did not participate in the deliberation and signing of the instant Judgment. Likewise, Pablo Saavedra Alessandri, Secretariat of the Court, was not present during the decision on the case due to reasons of force majeure. ∗∗ According to the provisions of Article 72(2) of the Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American Court effective as of March 24, 2009, “[c]ases pending resolution shall be processed according to the provisions of these Rules of Procedure, except for those cases in which a hearing has already been convened upon the entry into force of these Rules of Procedure; such cases shall be governed by the provisions of the previous Rules of Procedure.” Hence, the Court’s Rules of Procedure referred to in the instant Judgment correspond to those approved by the Court during its XLIX Ordinary Period of Sessions held from November 16 to 25, 2000 and partially amended by the Court during its LXXXII Ordinary Period of Sessions, held from January 19 to 31, 2009. 1 On March 26, 1999 the Association of Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared of Guatemala joined the procedure before the Commission as a co-applicant.