3
5.
The arguments presented by the Commission, to the effect that:
a.
there are 7 petitions pending before the Commission involving 8
persons subject to “mandatory death sentences” under Trinidad and
Tobago law, and indicating that their Cases have not been submitted
for examination under any other procedure of international
investigation or settlement to any other international organisation and
that domestic remedies have been exhausted;
b.
in each Case, the petition states facts that tend to establish a violation
of the rights guaranteed under the Convention, and some of them
challenge the compatibility of the mandatory nature of the death
penalty in Trinidad and Tobago with the State’s obligations under the
Convention, as well as the adequacy of due process afforded to the
persons who have been sentenced to death;
c.
pursuant to Article 29(2) of its Regulations, the Commission requested
precautionary measures in each of these Cases;
d.
the State’s denunciation of the Convention, pursuant to Article 78 of
the said instrument, becomes effective on or about 26 May 1999;
the Commission has not had the opportunity to complete its
examination of these complaints and to issue the relevant decisions,
and that, given these circumstances, it considers that the execution of
the 8 persons would render any eventual decision of the Commission
moot, in terms of the efficacy of potential remedies, causing
irreparable harm to the persons to whom the sentences and
complaints relate.
e.
CONSIDERING:
1.
That Trinidad and Tobago has been a State Party to the American Convention
since 28 May 1991, and that it accepted the jurisdiction of the Court on the
same day.
2.
That the State gave notice of its denunciation of the Convention to the
Secretary General of the Organisation of American States on 26 May 1998,
and that, pursuant to Article 78(1) of the said Convention, the denunciation
becomes effective on 26 May 1999.
3.
That, pursuant to Article 78(2) of the American Convention, the denunciation
does not have the effect of releasing the State from its obligations with
respect to acts occurring prior to the effective date of denunciation which may
constitute a violation of the said Convention, such as the facts concerning the
instant Cases.
4.
That Article 63(2) of the Convention provides:
[i]n cases of extreme gravity and urgency, and when necessary to avoid
irreparable damage to persons, the Court shall adopt such provisional
measures as it deems pertinent in matters it has under consideration. With