4 2. That Paraguay has been a State Party to the American Convention since August 24, 1989, and that it accepted the binding jurisdiction of the Court on March 26, 1993. 3. That, pursuant to Article 67 of the American Convention, State parties must fully comply with the judgments entered by the Court in time fashion. Furthermore, Article 68.1 of the American Convention stipulates that ““[t]he States Parties to the Convention undertake to comply with the judgment of the Court in any case to which they are parties”. Therefore, the States must ensure that the rulings set out in the decisions of the Court are implemented at the domestic level3. 4. That the obligation to comply with the rulings of the Court conforms to a basic principle of the law on the international responsibility of States, under which States are required to fulfill their international treaty obligations in good faith (pacta sunt servanda) and, as previously held by the Court and provided for in Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969, States cannot invoke their municipal laws to escape from their pre-established international responsibility. The treaty obligations of States Parties are binding on all State powers and organs.4 5. That the States Parties to the Convention must ensure compliance with its provisions and their inherent effects (effet utile) within their respective domestic legal systems. This principle applies not only in connection with the substantive provisions of human rights treaties (i.e. those dealing with provisions on protected rights) but also in connection with procedural rules, such as the ones concerning compliance with the decisions of the Court. Such obligations are intended to be interpreted and enforced in a manner such that the protected guarantee is truly practical and effective, taking into account the special nature of human rights treaties5. 6. That during the monitoring compliance with the Judgment, the role of the tribunal is to verify the compliance with the obligations established in the ruling by the responsible State. The duty to comply with the obligations established by the Tribunal in the Judgment includes the State’s duty to report on the measures adopted to fulfill such decisions. Therefore, the Court needs to have the necessary information, which must be provided by the State, the Commission and the victims or their representatives. * * * Obligation to investigate into the facts and, if applicable, punish the responsible 7. That, as to the obligation to carry out the necessary procedures to activate and conclude effectively, within a reasonable time, the investigation to determine the 3 Cf. Case of Baena Ricardo et al. V. Panama. Competence. Judgment of November 28, 2003. Series C No. 104, para. 131; Case of the Caracazo V. Venezuela. Monitoring Compliance with the Judgment. Order of the InterAmerican Court of Human Rights of September 23, 2009, considering clause three and case of Cantoral Huamaní and Garcia Santa Cruz V. Peru. Monitoring Compliance with the Judgment. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of September 21, 2009, Considering Clause three. 4 See International Responsibility for the Promulgation and Enforcement of Laws in Violation of the Convention (Articles 1 and 2 of the American Convention on Human Rights). Advisory Opinion OC-14/94 of December 9, 1994, Series A Nº.14, para. 35; Case of the Caracazo V. Venezuela, supra note 3, considering clause five and Case of Cantoral Huamaní and Garcia Santa Cruz V. Peru, supra note 3, considering clause five. 5 Cf. Case of Ivcher Bronstein V Peru. Competence. Judgment of September 24, 1999. Series C No. 54, para. 37; Case of the Caracazo V. Venezuela, supra note 3, considering clause six and Case of Cantoral Huamaní and Garcia Santa Cruz V. Peru, supra note 3, considering clause six.