5 which it decided: to recognize that "the crime of homicide had been committed against Jean-Paul Genie-Lacayo," to identify the alleged perpetrators and accessories and to refrain from proceeding with the case, on the ground that it belonged in the military jurisdiction, and submitted the case file to the Military Advocate; the victim's father appealed the decision on July 6, 1992; on October 27, 1992, the Court of Appeal, Region III, Criminal Chamber, delivered a judgment denying the appeal concerning the jurisdiction of the Court and upheld the ruling of lack of jurisdiction to hear the case, it being a matter for the military courts; on November 6 and 9, 1992, the victim's father and the Assistant AttorneyGeneral each filed special applications for judicial review; on December 20, 1993, the Supreme Court of Justice handed down a ruling in which it dismissed those measures and referred the case to the Military Advocate; both the Assistant Attorney-General and the victim's father repeatedly submitted briefs claiming that the deadline for delivering a judgment had been exceeded by far. 15. The Commission maintains in its application that Government agents, acting under the cover of a public function, committed acts that resulted in a denial of justice. These acts include the disappearance of evidence, the contempt displayed by military witnesses in refusing to appear in order to testify in the Seventh Court of the Criminal District of Managua, the failure to institute internal proceedings within a reasonable time, and the application of norms incompatible with the object and purpose of the American Convention, such as Decrees 591 and 600 relating to the Law on the Organization of the Military Judge Advocate and Military Criminal Procedure and the Provisional Military Criminal Law. These acts precluded any impartial investigation that would lead to the punishment of those responsible and compensation of the victim's next of kin. The petition further states that the events on which the complaint is based began on July 23, 1991, the date on which the Office of the Attorney General of Justice, then the only public criminal action authority, submitted the petition to the Judiciary. The specific acts referred to in the application are as follows: a. Colonel Sidney Lacayo-Guerra of the Sandinista Popular Army, chief of General Humberto Ortega-Saavedra's Escort, testified on September 3, 1991, before the Seventh Court of the Criminal District of Managua that the weapons' registration log, reports of movements of the convoy and their arrivals at Military Unit 003 were burned on January 1991. He explained that the records were burned, in compliance with Order 034 of December 1, 1981, because they were not required by the police for the investigation of the case, a regulation that could only be countermanded by order of the Army Chief of Staff. b. On October 7, 1991, the Assistant Attorney-General complained that the Police Chief of Criminal Investigations had arbitrarily and exceeding his authority ordered the T-shirt worn by the deceased on the day of the events to be burned. c. On June 2, 1992, the Seventh Court of the Criminal District of Managua conducted an inspection of Military Unit 003 which showed that General Ortega had six black and olive green Renegade CJ-7 Jeep units and two Sahara Jeeps at his disposal until October 28, 1990. In December 1991, five of those Renegade Jeeps were sold in perfect condition and below their market value. d. Twelve military witnesses who were at Military Unit 003 refused to testify before the court of first instance. In view of their refusal, Judge Boanerges OjedaBaca sent a letter on February 25, 1992, to Commander Javier López-Lowery, Chief Police Prosecutor, together with the respective summonses for them to appear.