child.231 In that regard, not only should the requirement for special measures be given weight but also the specific features of the child's situation.232 ii) Right to be heard 131. Both the Court and the Commission agree with the Committee on the Rights of the Child when pointing out that there is an important complementariness between the best interests of the child principle and the right of the child to be heard and to have his/her opinions duly taken into account on the basis of his/her age and maturity in all those decisions that affect him/her, as recognized by Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.233 This provisions sets forth the following: 1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. 2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body, in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national law. 132. The Inter-American Court has established that Article 8.1 of the American Convention, in the light of Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, enshrines the right of the child to be heard in proceedings where his/her rights are decided upon.234 The right to be heard implies that the child has the effective possibility of being able to present his/her opinions in such a way that they can have an influence on the decision-making context.235 The Commission has provided that, in connection with proceedings involving the care and protection of the child, it is assumed that the child has the right to be heard in these proceedings for the purposes of deciding upon the most suitable measure of protection, its review, modification or termination, as well as any other decision about this measure.236 133. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has observed that the states have the obligation to adopt all those measures that are deemed necessary to ensure that there are mechanisms, in the framework of administrative and judicial proceedings, to gather, in a timely and adequate fashion, the opinions of the child on the matters affecting him/her and that are the target of analysis and decision making in the framework of these proceedings.237 231I/A Court H.R. Case of Fornerón and Daughter v. Argentina. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of April 27, 2012, Series C No. 242, para. 48; and Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child. Advisory Opinion OC-17/02 of August 28, 2002. Series A No. 17, para. 65. 232 I/A Court H.R. Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child. Advisory Opinion OC-17/02 of August 28, 2002. Series A No. 17, para. 61; and Case of Fornerón and Daughter v. Argentina. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of April 27, 2012, Series C No. 242, para. 45. 233 IACHR, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending Institutionalization in the Americas. October 17, 2013, para. 162. See also: United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 12, The right of the child to be heard, July 20, 2009, para. 74; and General Comment No. 14 on the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration, May 29, 2013, para. 43. 234 I/A Court H.R. Case of Atala Riffo and Daughters v. Chile. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of February 24, 2012. Series C No. 239, para. 196; Case of Furlan and Family v. Argentina. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of August 31, 2012. Series C No. 246, para. 228; and Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child. Advisory Opinion OC-17/02 of August 28, 2002. Series A No. 17, para. 99. 235 IACHR, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending Institutionalization in the Americas. October 17, 2013, para. 247. 236 IACHR, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending Institutionalization in the Americas. October 17, 2013, para. 247. 237 United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 12, The right of the child to be heard, July 20, 2009, para. 19. 26