29 translate into deprivation or denial of justice. In the specific case, Guatemala failed to fulfill the obligation to provide simple, prompt and effective judicial recourse to Mr. Nicholas Blake's relatives. This was due to the fact that as the Guatemalan authorities impeded the clarification of the cause of Mr. Nicholas Blake's death and disappearance, and delayed the investigation of the facts and the institution of any judicial proceedings. At the same time, army officers denied to the family and to diplomatic officials of the Government of the United States of America that the Army was aware of the circumstances of the case. Mr. Nicholas Blake's relatives were deprived of the right to an independent judicial process within a reasonable time and were consequently prevented from obtaining fair compensation. The Commission observed that in Guatemala the possibility of initiating a compensatory action was not necessarily linked to the criminal process but that, however, such action must be filed against a specific person or body in order to establish responsibility for the alleged facts and the payment of the appropriate indemnities. The State's obstruction and delay of the investigation made it impossible for such a liability action to be brought in the case. 92. The Commission argued that, as had been decided in the Velásquez Rodríguez Case, it is the responsibility of the State to conduct serious judicial investigations into human rights violations committed on its territory and not the responsibility of private persons. In the instant case, the actions of Mr. Nicholas Blake's relatives in the investigation were essential in given State's failure to investigate it. Making the situation even more serious was the fact that the investigation was hampered by State agents. Mr. Nicholas Blake's relatives spoke to Guatemalan civilian and military officials for the specific purpose of discovering what had occurred; however, no serious judicial investigation was conducted into the facts surrounding the disappearance. 93. The Commission maintained that in this case there was a failure to comply with the provision of the Convention that established that a hearing must take place within a reasonable time, as recognized by Guatemala on April 16, 1997. According to the Commission, Mr. Nicholas Blake's forced disappearance began twelve years ago, no judgment has yet been issued, and it was only in 1997 that a person allegedly implicated in the events was detained, although the Guatemalan authorities were in possession of the pertinent information since the previous decade. It further stated that the violation of Article 8 of the Convention goes beyond the problem of reasonable time, inasmuch as justice was also obstructed by the State authorities, who deliberately concealed the information they had received. 94. The Commission pointed out that the ordinary courts in Guatemala lacked competence to try army personnel and that habeas corpus proceedings were ineffective. The prosecutors and judges who were investigating grave human rights violations received constant threats against their lives and those of their relatives. Moreover, it pointed out that as a result of the climate of impunity generated by the deficiencies of the judicial system that existed in Guatemala at the time of Mr. Nicholas Blake's disappearance, the victims' relatives lacked access to prompt and effective judicial recourse since Guatemala, through its agents' repeated actions, abducted and disappeared Mr. Blake to allow the crime committed to go unpunished. The Guatemalan authorities obstructed the investigations which sought to shed light on the victim's death and disappearance. 95. The State denied statements to the effect that Mr. Nicholas Blake was intercepted by agents of the State, taken to a place of detention, subjected to