91. Second, without prejudice to the fact that the judgments handed down in internal proceedings, both in the trial to determine responsibilities and in the ordinary criminal proceedings initiated in 1999, are an important frame of reference for the Bolivian Judiciary's efforts to address deeds that occurred during the dictatorship of Luis García Meza, the Commission reiterates that it is an uncontested fact that to this day, and despite the proceedings that were started, nothing at all has been done to determine the whereabouts of the body of Mr. Flores Bedregal, nor has light been shed on the circumstances of his disappearance, the manner in which he was taken out of the COB after the attack perpetrated against the people meeting inside, and the exact place he was taken to. Under those circumstances, the family members of Mr. Flores Bedregal have, over three decades, made multiple representations to a series of authorities and have joined the judicial proceedings without so far obtaining any real answer about the fate of their loved one. 92. In that connection, the Commission underscores that while the specific case of Mr. Flores Bedregal was incorporated into the investigations and judicial proceedings it has analyzed, they addressed a series of broader and more complex facts relating to the military coup in Bolivia in 1980 and the dictatorial regime it led to. Accordingly, the ISCHR observes that in both the 1993 decision of the Supreme Court in the trial to determine responsibilities and in the 2007 conviction handed down in ordinary criminal proceedings, no determination was made of specific facts relating to the case of Mr. Flores Bedregal, beyond taking it as established that he was murdered and determining the persons who participated in the armed assault on the COB on July 17, 1980. However, although the decisions handed down themselves point to lack of certainty and contradictions among the accused that created serious obstacles, none of the proceedings turned out to be an effective vehicle for shedding light of what really happened to Juan Carlos Flores Bedregal. 93. With regard to the time taken, the Commission notes that the State's argument focuses on the fact that the events occurred under a dictatorship and that due to the complexity of the proceedings it bore no international responsibility in respect of judicial guarantees and protection. On this, the IACHR understands that, indeed, the crimes and persons deemed responsible in the judicial proceedings referred to in the proven facts section require assessment of a multitude of facts, including the commission of serious human rights violations committed during a period of dictatorship. Nevertheless, while said proceedings were conducted upon Bolivia's return to democracy, as was established in the proven facts section, Bolivian authorities themselves have acknowledged that there was procrastination, particularly in the ordinary criminal proceedings initiated in 1999 and that concluded finally in 2010 with Supreme Court decision No. 504. In any event, the Commission reiterates that, despite the important advances mentioned earlier, 38 years later still nothing is known about the whereabouts and fate of Juan Carlos Flores Bedregal, a finding his family members are still waiting for. 94. At the same time, the IACHR stresses that according to the proven facts the crime of forced disappearance was not included among those for which the defendants were tried, in either the trial to determine responsibilities or the ordinary criminal proceedings begun in 1999. Likewise, the decision of December 2007 by the Second Criminal Enforcement Court dismissed the possibility of including that crime based on the principle that laws cannot be applied retroactively. On this, the IACHR once again states that due to the ongoing or permanent nature of the crime of forced disappearance and due to the fact that its "consummation is prolonged over a period of time, if the criminal conduct continues after incorporation of the crime legally characterized as forced disappearance of persons into domestic criminal law, the new law turns out to be applicable." 122 It is likewise worth pointing out that the prohibition of this crime and the corresponding duty to investigate it and punish those responsible qualify as jus cogens.123 95. With regard to the actual characterization of the crime of forced disappearance in Bolivia. The Commission points out once again that the State ratified the IACFDP on May 5, 1999 and it was not until 2006, that is to say, seven years later, that its incorporation into Bolivian criminal law took effect. I/A Court H.R. Case of Tiu Tojín v. Guatemala. Merits, Reparations, and Costs. Judgment of November 26, 2008. Series C No. 190, para. 87. 123I/A Court H.R. Case of La Cantuta v. Peru. Merits, Reparations, and Costs. Judgment of November 29, 2006. Series C No. 162, para. 157. 122 25