3 I INTRODUCTION OF THE CASE AND CAUSE OF ACTION 1. The case submitted to the Court. On November 30, 2017, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter also “the Inter-American Commission” or “the Commission”), under the provisions of 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 Girón et al. against the Republic of Guatemala (hereinafter also “the State” or “Guatemala”). The Commission indicated that the case related to a series of violations in the context of the criminal proceedings against Roberto Girón and Pedro Castillo Mendoza (hereinafter also “Messrs. Girón and Castillo” or “the alleged victims”) for the crimes of aggravated rape and murder, which culminated in the imposition of the death penalty and their execution by firing squad. According to the Commission, the State had violated the rights of the alleged victims because they had not had adequate time or means to prepare their defense and had not been assisted by counsel provided by the State when providing their confessions. It also alleged that the public defenders appointed to assist them were law students who lacked the necessary professional experience and qualifications to conduct an adequate defense in criminal proceedings. 2. Procedure before the Commission. The procedure before the Commission was as follows: a. Petition. On July 11 and August 14, 1996, the Commission received two petitions submitted, respectively, by the Magnus F. Hirschfeld Centre for Human Rights and the Guatemalan Instituto de Estudios Comparados en Ciencias Penales (hereinafter also “IECCP”) together with the Centro de Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos (hereinafter also “CALDH”) on behalf of Roberto Girón (hereinafter also “Mr. Girón”) and Pedro Castillo Mendoza (hereinafter also “Pedro Castillo” or “Mr. Castillo”). b. Precautionary measures. On September 9, 1996, the Commission asked the State to adopt precautionary measures to suspend the execution of Roberto Girón and Pedro Castillo Mendoza. On September 11, 1996, the State informed the Commission that, in the opinion of the Supreme Court of Justice, it was not possible to admit the request for precautionary measures because the powers to grant them had not been provided for, especially at the actual procedural stage of the case. On September 13, 1996, the alleged victims were executed by firing squad. c. Report on Admissibility and Merits. On July 5, 2017, pursuant to Articles 35 and 50 of the Rules of Procedure, the Commission issued Report on Admissibility and Merits No. 76/17 (hereinafter also “the Report on Admissibility and Merits,” “Report No. 76/17” or “the Report”) in which it reached a series of conclusions1 and made several recommendations to the State. Notification to the State. The Commission notified the report to the State in a communication of August 30, 2017, granting it two months to provide information on compliance with the recommendations. The State failed to submit any information within the time frame indicated by the Commission. d. The Commission concluded that Guatemala was responsible for the violation of the rights established in Articles 4(1), 4(2), 5(1), 5(2), 8(2), 8(2)(c), 8(2)(e) 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 Roberto Girón and Pedro Castillo Mendoza. The Commission also concluded that the State was responsible for the violation of Articles 1 and 6 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture. 1