6 p. on November 5, 1990, the Tenth Criminal Court of First Instance of the Judicial District of the Metropolitan Area of Caracas conducted a judicial inspection in the Southern Cemetery to determine alleged irregularities in how the corpses buried in mass graves had been registered and, in the corresponding official record, it “certified that the victims of the events of 27/2/89, buried in the North 6 sector (“la Peste”), are not recorded in the registers…”; and q. on November 28, 1990, the public was informed that the first remains had appeared in plot number 6 North of the Southern Cemetery General in Caracas. 130 corpses were exhumed; of these only 68 corresponded to persons whose date of death was February and March 1989. On May 30, 1991, the Committee of the next of kin of the victims of the events of February and March 1989 (hereinafter “COFAVIC”), filed a claim before the Tenth Criminal Court of First Instance, owing to a fire in the area of the mass graves. III COMPETENCE OF THE COURT 3. The Court is competent to hear this case. Venezuela is a State Party to the American Convention since August 9, 1977, and recognized the obligatory jurisdiction of the Court on June 24, 1981. IV PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COMMISSION 4. As a result of a complaint presented on March 28, 1995, the Commission began processing the case and requested pertinent information from Venezuela, in a note of March 29, 1995. 5. In a note of June 5, 1995, the State requested the Commission to allow it more time to respond to the request for information; the request was accepted on June 13, 1995. 6. In a note of August 16, 1995, the State replied to the Commission by transmitting a preliminary report on the case in which it mentioned, among other matters, that “in view of the complexity of this case, and also the number of claimants, the National Government [would] continue providing complementary information subsequently, as it advances in the investigation of each individual case”. 7. In a note of August 18, 1995, the Commission forwarded the State’s reply to the petitioners. In a note of September 11 that year, the petitioners requested an extension in order to respond to the observations of Venezuela, and the Commission granted it. 8. On August 24, 1995, the State provided the Commission with additional information on the case, consisting in a copy of the 1990 Report of the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Venezuela and two communications from the former Prosecutor General of December 20, 1989, and January 31, 1990. According to the Commission “the additional information provided by the Venezuelan Government was