I
INTRODUCTION OF THE CASE AND CAUSE OF ACTION
1.
The case submitted to the Court. On November 25, 2020, the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter also “the Inter-American Commission” or “the
Commission”), pursuant to Articles 51 and 61 of the American Convention and Article 35
of the Rules of Procedure, submitted to the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court the
case of Hendrix v. Guatemala. The Commission indicated that it related to the alleged
international responsibility of the Republic of Guatemala (hereinafter also “the State” or
“Guatemala”) for impeding Steven Edward Hendrix (hereinafter also “Mr. Hendrix” or “the
alleged victim”) from exercising the profession of public notary, even though he had the
respective university degree obtained in Guatemala, because he was not a Guatemalan
national. The Commission alleged that the State had not provided sufficient reasons to
prove that prohibiting foreign nationals from exercising the notarial profession in
Guatemala constituted a restriction that met the requirements established by the American
Convention. The Commission determined that the State was responsible for the violation
of the rights to equality before the law and to judicial protection recognized in Articles 24
and 25(1) of the American Convention, in relation to the obligations established in Articles
1(1) and 2 of this instrument, to the detriment of Mr. Hendrix.
2.
Procedure before the Commission. The procedure before the Commission was as
follows:
a.
Petition. On November 5, 2004, Steven Edward Hendrix lodged the initial
petition before the Commission.
b.
Admissibility Report. On October 29, 2009, the Commission adopted
Admissibility Report No. 101/09, and this was notified to the parties on November
20, 2009.
c.
Merits Report. The Commission adopted Merits Report No. 194/20
(hereinafter also “the Merits Report” or “Report No. 194/20”) on July 14, 2020, in
which it reached a series of conclusions1 and made several recommendations to
the State.
d.
Notification to the State. The Merits Report was notified to the State on
August 25, 2020, and it was granted two months to report on compliance with the
recommendations. On October 22, 2020, the State requested a two-month
extension. Then, on November 24, 2020, the State forwarded a communications
stating, “expressly, that it did not waive its right to file preliminary objections
should this matter be submitted to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.”
3.
Submission of the case to the Court. Consequently, on November 25, 2020, the
Commission submitted to the Court all the facts and alleged human rights violations
described in the Merits Report2 owing to “ the need to obtain justice and reparation for the
[alleged] victim.” The Court notes with concern that more than 16 years elapsed between
the lodging of the initial petition before the Commission and the submission of the case
before the Court.
4.
The Inter-American Commission’s request. Based on the foregoing, the
Commission asked the Court to conclude and declare the international responsibility of
1
In Report No. 194/20, the Commission concluded that the Guatemalan State was responsible for the violation
of the rights established in Articles 24 (Equality before the Law) and 25(1) (Judicial Protection) of the American
Convention on Human Rights, in relation to Articles 1(1) and 2 of this instrument.
2
The Commission appointed Commissioner Esmeralda Arosema de Troitiño as its delegate in this case, and
then Deputy Executive Secretary Marisol Blanchard, and lawyers Jorge Humberto Meza Flores and Christian
González Chacón, as its legal advisers.
3