18 Everyone has the right to simple and prompt recourse, or any other effective recourse, to a competent court or tribunal for protection against acts that violate his fundamental rights recognized by the constitution or laws of the state concerned or by this Convention, even though such violation may have been committed by persons acting in the course of their official duties. 70. Article 1.1 of the Convention provides: The States Parties to this Convention undertake to respect the rights and freedoms recognized herein and to ensure to all persons subject to their jurisdiction the free and full exercise of those rights and freedoms, without any discrimination for reasons of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, economic status, birth, or any other social condition. 71. Articles 8 and 25 of the American Convention enshrine the right of access to justice and specify its scope and characteristics. In turn, Article 1.1 establishes the positive duty of the State to uphold it. In the case at hand, it must be specifically determined whether the Ecuadorian State offered access to a swift and effective remedy to protect the injured party against acts that violated her rights, pursuant to Article 25.1 of the Convention, and whether the Ecuadorian State ensured the guarantees necessary for the pursuit of an effective investigation and prosecution within a reasonable time, pursuant to Article 8.1 of the Convention. 72. The Commission understands that Melba Peralta Mendoza lodged a criminal complaint on behalf of her daughter, with the aspiration of securing justice and fair compensation, to allow her to meet the costs of the medical treatments needed to resolve the weakened health situation of Melba del Carmen Suárez Peralta. In this regard, the Commission also understands that in this case, the possible lodging of a civil action for damages, established by Article 2214 of the Ecuadorian Civil Code, demanded a prior criminal ruling against the defendants, because of the prejudicial nature of criminal matters. 73. In this regard, the Commission must also refer to the impact on Melba del Carmen Suárez Peralta of having brought and pursued a criminal trial for alleged medical malpractice that concluded without a result under statutory limitations. The Commission notes that the facts reported to the judicial authorities are related to the medical attention provided to Mrs. Suárez Peralta and had permanent consequences on the alleged victim’s day-to-day life, requiring several surgeries and constant medical attention. The Commission also notes that Melba del Carmen Suárez Peralta’s ability to work was affected. 74. As the IACHR stated in its admissibility report, under the Ecuadorian legal system, the 91 suitable and effective remedy for resolving the situation described in the complaint was a criminal trial. 92 This, under Article 52 of the Ecuadorian Criminal Code, allowed, first, the prosecution of the parties responsible and, second, the possibility of compensation for the damages suffered by the responsible parties against whom the private accusation was brought in pursuit of that compensation. 75. The criminal proceedings initiated in the case at hand concluded when statutory limitations were triggered. On this point, the State maintained that the complainant did not pursue an appeal remedy to challenge the statutory limitations. Thus, the State contended, first, that the criminal proceedings could not be reopened since the complainant failed to pursue that appeal; nevertheless, it also maintained that the remedy in question “provides the opportunity for ratification of the order to invoke 93 statutory limitations.” 76. The Commission notes that, according to the Ecuadorian Criminal Code applicable to the case at hand, for offenses punishable by jail terms statutory limitations were triggered five years after the 91 IACHR, Report on Admissibility No. 85/08, Melba del Carmen Suárez Peralta v. Ecuador, para. 39. 92 Ecuadorian Criminal Code of 1983. 93 Office of the Attorney General of the State, document received on August 20, 2009.