2
of the Privy Council; and the nature itself of the execution, which is by
hanging;
e)
Messrs. Boyce
remedies; and
and
Joseph
have
exhausted
available
domestic
f)
warrants were read to Messrs. Boyce and Joseph for their executions
on Tuesday, September 21, 2004.
3.
The representations made by the Commission to the effect that Messrs. Boyce
and Joseph “are under a serious and urgent risk of irreparable damage pending the
completion of their proceedings before the Inter-American human rights system.”
Further, the Commission stated that “the execution of the alleged victims prior to the
completion of these processes would render any eventual recommendations or
judgments moot in terms of the efficacy of potential remedies, such as commutation
of their death sentences.” In light of the above, the Commission concluded that the
facts alleged constitute a situation of extreme gravity and urgency, justifying the
issuing of an Order of provisional measures by the Court, in accordance with Article
63(2) of the Convention. Consequently, the Commission requested that the Court
order the State to “take all measures necessary to preserve the lives and physical
integrity of Lennox Boyce and Jeffrey Joseph so as not to hinder the processing of
their cases before the Inter-American system […] and inform the […] Court
immediately concerning the measures taken to comply with the present request.”
4.
The Order of September 17, 2004 issued by the President of the Court
(hereinafter “the President”), which decided:
1.
To require the State to adopt, without delay, all of the necessary measures to
preserve the life and physical integrity of Lennox Boyce and Jeffrey Joseph, so as not to
hinder the processing of their cases before the Inter-American system.
2.
To require the State to inform the Inter-American Court of Human Rights,
within 10 days of the notification of the present Order, regarding the steps it has taken
in fulfillment of [the] Order.
3.
To require the representatives of the beneficiaries of the present urgent
measures to submit their observations to the State’s report within five days of its
reception, and to require the Commission to submit its observations to the State’s report
within seven days of its reception.
4.
To require the State, after the submission of its first report, to continue
informing the Court every two months regarding the measures it adopts, and to require
the representatives of the beneficiaries of the present urgent measures and the
Commission to submit their observations to those State reports within four and six
weeks, respectively, of the reception of such reports.
[…]
5.
The communication of October 11, 2004, in which the Secretariat of the Court
(hereinafter “the Secretariat”) notified the State that, pursuant to the President’s
Order of September 17, 2004, it was required to submit, no later than September
27, 2004, a report detailing the action taken in fulfillment of that Order. Following
the instructions of the President, the Secretariat requested the State “to present this
information as soon as possible”.
6.
The communication of October 14, 2004, in which the representatives of the
beneficiaries advised that “on 17th September 2004, the High Court of Barbados
granted Conservatory Orders staying the executions of Mr. Lennox Boyce and Mr.