5 At any stage of the proceedings involving cases of extreme gravity and urgency, and when necessary to avoid irreparable damage to persons, the Court may, at the request of a party or on its own motion, order such provisional measures as it deems pertinent, pursuant to Article 63(2) of the Convention; 4. That under international human rights law, provisional measures are not only precautionary, in the sense of preserving a juridical situation; they are also safeguards inasmuch as they protect human rights. When the requisite basic conditions of extreme gravity and urgency are present and when necessary to prevent irreparable harm to persons, provisional measures become a true jurisdictional guarantee that is preventive in nature; 5. That in requesting provisional measures to protect the freedom of expression of “journalist Mauricio Herrera Ulloa and the newspaper La Nación”, represented by Fernán Vargas Rohrmoser, the Commission is seeking three things: a) that execution of the judgment of conviction delivered by the San José First Circuit Criminal Trial Court on November 12, 1999, be suspended; b) that Mauricio Herrera Ulloa’s name not be listed in the Judiciary’s Record of Convicted Felons, and c) that the State refrain from taking any measure that would be prejudicial to the right to freedom of expression that Mauricio Herrera Ulloa and the newspaper La Nación enjoy. 6. That freedom of expression, recognized in Article 13 of the Convention, is a cornerstone upon which the very existence of a democratic society rests. It is indispensable for the formation of public opinion. It is also a condition sine qua non for the development of political parties, trade unions, scientific and cultural societies and, in general, those who wish to influence the public. It represents, in short, the means that enable the community, when exercising its options, to be sufficiently informed. Consequently, it can be said that a society that is not well informed is not a society that is truly free. 1 7. That an order must be given to suspend La Nación’s publication of the operative paragraphs of the judgment of conviction that the San José First Circuit Criminal Trial Court delivered on November 12, 1999 and its creation of a “link” at the La Nación Digital website between the contested newspaper articles and the operative paragraphs of that judgment, since such a publication and such a link would cause irreparable harm to Mauricio Herrera Ulloa. No irreparable harm would be done, however, if the other operative paragraphs of that judgment were enforced. Execution of those paragraphs should be suspended until the case is finally settled by the organs of the inter-American system for the protection of human rights; 8. That the Court will not rule on the matter of the removal of the link at La Nación Digital that connects the surname Przedborski to the contested articles delinkage ordered in the judgment of the San José First Circuit Criminal Trial Court on November 12, 1999- since the question of delinkage goes to the merits of the petition now before the Inter-American Commission, and is not material to provisional measures; 9. That the entry of Herrera Ulloa’s name in the Judiciary’s Record of Convicted Felons, created by Law No. 6723 of March 10, 1982, warrants special attention. The 1 Cfr. Compulsory membership in an association prescribed by law for the practice of journalism (Arts. 13 and 29 American Convention on Human Rights). Advisory Opinion OC-5/85 of November 13, 1985. Series A No.5, paragraphs 70 and 71.