12 26) On May 7, 2001, the Secretariat received from the Commission copies of two decisions pertinent to cases on the imposition of the “mandatory death penalty”, issued by the United Nations Human Rights Committee and the Court of Appeals for the Eastern Caribbean. These decisions were transmitted to the State on May 15, 2001. VI JURISDICTION 27) Trinidad and Tobago deposited its instrument of ratification to the American Convention on May 28, 1991. On the same date, the State recognized the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court. 28) On May 26, 1998, Trinidad and Tobago denounced the Convention and pursuant to Article 78 of the same, this denunciation took effect one year later, on May 26, 1999. The facts, to which the instant case refers, occurred prior to the effective date of the State’s denunciation. Consequently, the Court has jurisdiction, under the terms of Articles 78(2) and 62(3) of the Convention, to entertain the present case and render a judgment on the State’s preliminary objection. VII PRELIMINARY OBJECTION: FAILURE OF THE COURT TO “ACCEPT JURISDICTION” WITHIN THE STIPULATED PERIOD AND LACK OF JURISDICTION 29) In its preliminary objection, Trinidad and Tobago sustained that the InterAmerican Court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case in light of three main arguments: I. The Court did not accept jurisdiction of the case within the three-month period stipulated under Article 51 of the American Convention on Human Rights. II. case. The State’s second reservation precludes any jurisdiction of the Court in this III. Alternatively, the State has never recognized the jurisdiction of the Court. 30) The Court will now consider the arguments presented by the State in the case sub judice. A. FAILURE OF THE COURT TO “ACCEPT JURISDICTION” WITHIN THE STIPULATED PERIOD Arguments of the State 31) The State alleged that Article 51(1) of the Convention requires that, for the Court to have jurisdiction, not only must the Commission’s Report have been submitted to the Court within three months of the date of transmittal of the said Report to the State concerned, but that the Court must also have accepted jurisdiction in respect of the matter within the three month period. 32) that In this regard, the State noted that Article 51(1) of the Convention provides