5 I INTRODUCTION OF THE CASE AND PURPOSE OF THE DISPUTE 1. The case submitted to the Court. On May 3, 2012, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 51 and 61 of the American Convention and Article 35 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter also “the InterAmerican Commission” or “the Commission”) submitted to the jurisdiction of the Court (hereinafter “submission brief”) the case of Veliz Franco et al. v. the Republic of Guatemala (hereinafter also “the State” or “Guatemala”). According to the Commission, this case concerns the absence of an effective response by the State to the complaint filed on December 17, 2001, by Rosa Elvira Franco Sandoval (hereinafter also “Rosa Elvira Franco” or “Mrs. Franco Sandoval” or “Mrs. Franco”) before the Public Prosecution Service reporting the disappearance of her 15-year old daughter, María Isabel Veliz Franco (hereinafter also “María Isabel Veliz” or “María Isabel” or “the child” or “the presumed victim”), as well as the subsequent irregularities in the investigation of the facts. In the said complaint, Mrs. Franco Sandoval stated that, on December 16, 2001, her daughter left their home at 8 a.m. to go to work and never returned. The Commission observed that there is no record that any effort was made to find the victim between the time the complaint was filed, and the time the body was found at 2 p.m. on December 18, 2001. It also indicated that a series of irregularities occurred during the investigation into the disappearance and subsequent death1 of María Isabel Veliz Franco, in particular the failure to take immediate steps when she was reported missing, as well as errors in the preservation of the crime scene and the handling and analysis of the evidence collected. 2. Proceedings before the Commission. The proceedings before the Commission were as follows: a. Petition. On January 26, 2004, the Commission received the petition lodged by Mrs. Franco Sandoval, the Center for Justice and International Law (hereinafter “CEJIL”) and the Red de No Violencia contra las Mujeres en Guatemala (hereinafter “REDNOVI”). b. Admissibility Report. On October 21, 2006, the Commission approved Admissibility Report No. 92/062 (hereinafter also “the Admissibility Report”). c. Merits Report. On November 3, 2011, the Commission approved Merits Report No. 170/11 (hereinafter also “the Merits Report”) under Article 50 of the Convention, in which it reached a series of conclusions and made several recommendations to the State. i. Conclusions. The Commission concluded that, to the detriment of María Isabel Veliz Franco, the State was responsible for: Violations of the rights to life and to personal integrity, and the rights of the child, recognized in Articles 4, 5, and 19 of the American Convention, all in relation to Article 1(1) thereof. It also conclude[d] that the State had violated the rights of María Isabel Veliz Franco under Article 7 of the Convention of Belém do Pará, in relation to Article 24 of the American Convention, as 1 When referring to the act perpetrated against María Isabel in the brief submitting the case and in the Merits Report, the Commission used the terms “death,” “homicide” and “murder” indistinctly. Specifically, in the section on Recommendations of the Merits Report, the Commission recommended to the State that it “clarify the murder of María Isabel Veliz Franco.” Cf. Brief submitting the case of May 3, 2012 (file of preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs, fs. 2 to 6), and Merits Report No. 170/11, Case 12,578, María Isabel Veliz Franco et al., Guatemala, November 3, 2011 (file of preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs, fs. 7 to 51). 2 In which it admitted the complaint for the presumed violation of the rights recognized in Articles 4, 8(1), 11, 19, 24 and 25 of the American Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) thereof, to the detriment of María Isabel Veliz Franco, as well as the obligation established in Article 7 of the Convention of Belém do Pará. In addition, it concluded that the petition was admissible in relation to Articles 5(1), 8(1), 11 and 25 of the American Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) of this instrument, to the detriment of Rosa Elvira Franco Sandoval. It declared the petition inadmissible with regard to the rights recognized in Articles 5 and 7 of the American Convention, in the case of María Isabel. Cf. No. 92/06, Petition 95-04, María Isabel Veliz Franco, Guatemala, October 21, 2006 (file before the Commission, fs. 804 to 818).