I INTRODUCTION OF THE CASE AND PURPOSE OF THE DISPUTE 1. On November 29, 2010, pursuant to Articles 51 and 61 of the American Convention and Article 35 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter also “the Inter-American Commission” or “the Commission”) submitted the case of Fornerón and daughter against the Republic of Argentina (hereinafter also “the State” or “Argentina”) to the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court. The case originated from a petition presented on October 14, 2004 by Leonardo Aníbal Javier Fornerón and by Margarita Rosa Nicoliche, legal representative of the Centro de Estudios Sociales and Políticos para el Desarrollo Humano (hereinafter “CESPPEDH”), with Susana Ana Maria Terenzi and Alberto Pedronccini as legal representatives. On October 26, 2006, the InterAmerican Commission adopted Report on Admissibility No 117/061 and on July 13, 2010, it approved Report on Merits No. 83/10 under Article 50 of the Convention (hereinafter also “the Merits Report” or “Report No. 83/10”), in which it made a series of recommendations to the State. The report was notified to Argentina in a communication of July 29, 2010, granting it two months to report on compliance with the recommendations. Following the expiry of an extension requested by Argentina, the Commission submitted the case to the Court owing to the State’s failure to comply with the recommendations, and the consequent need to obtain justice and effective protection of the rights to protection of the family and of the best interest of the child, as well as the need for the State to amend its law on the sale of children, and to provide integral reparation for the human rights violations in this case. The Inter-American Commission appointed Commissioner Luz Patricia Mejía and Executive Secretary Santiago A. Canton, as delegates, and Deputy Executive Secretary Elizabeth AbiMershed and María Claudia Pulido, Marisol Blanchard and Lilly Ching Soto, attorneys of the Executive Secretariat, as legal advisers. 2. According to the Inter-American Commission, this case relates to the alleged violation of the right to protection of the family of Mr. Fornerón and his biological daughter.2 The infant was handed over by her mother for pre-adoptive care to a married couple without the consent of her biological father, who has no access to the child, and the State has not ordered or implemented a visiting regime despite numerous requests by Mr. Fornerón over the last 10 years. The Commission considered that the passage of time was particularly relevant in the determination of the legal status of the child and her father, because the judicial authorities granted the simple adoption of the girl in favor of the couple with guardianship on December 23, 2005, based on the relationship that had developed over time. The unjustified delay in the proceedings became the grounds for disregarding the father’s rights. Consequently, the Commission asked the Court to conclude and declare the international responsibility of the State for violating the rights of Mr. Fornerón and his daughter to due process and to judicial guarantees, and their right to protection of the family established in Articles 8(1), 25(1) and 17 of the American Convention, respectively, in relation to Articles 19 and 1(1) of this instrument, and for failure to comply with Article 2 of the Convention in relation to Articles 1(1) and 19 thereof. The Commission asked the Court to order various measures of reparation. 1 In this Report, the Inter-American Commission declared the petition admissible with regard to the alleged violation of Articles 1(1), 8, 17, 19 and 25 of the American Convention. 2 Hereafter, the Court will refer to the child as M, and to the adoptive couple as B-Z, in order to protect the former’s identity. 3