22 112 not initiated the procedures for work permit nor for approval of his professional license in Ecuador. In this regard, the Commission notes that the Ecuadorian Health Code regulated all matters related to public 113 or private health and established a procedure for the exercise of the medical profession. In addition, the “Law of the Ecuadorian Medical Federation for exercise, improvement and professional defense” establishes the procedure for doctors who obtained their degrees abroad, to be admitted to practice in the 114 country. Nevertheless, the verification did not have any consequence in the search for justice and reparation for the victims at the internal level. 86. It should be noted that although the complaint was lodged for the investigation of any accomplices and accessories after the fact, no ex officio investigation was opened against Drs. Minchala and Bohórquez until the complainant requested the expansion of the investigation. As a result of the authorities’ lack of procedural dispatch, it was the complainants who had to request and formalize the accusation against each of the possibly implicated parties, based on their own monitoring of the proceedings. The State failed to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the alleged facts, even though the information on the Minchala Clinic was furnished by the complainants at the start of the process, in their original filing. The fragmentary nature of the investigation made a significant contribution to its lack of dispatch. 87. Thus, the proceedings were characterized by the failure to pursue matters on an ex officio basis and an absence of minimal guarantees of due diligence. The lack of response and delays in pursuing the proceedings led to the impunity of the possible guilty parties, in that the deadline for statutory limitations fell due on August 16, 2005, and prescription was declared the following September 115 20. 88. The IACHR addressed this point in its 1997 Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Ecuador. On that occasion, it noted that many violations of fundamental rights stemmed from shortcomings in the administration of justice, that delays were particularly common in the criminal justice system, and that according to the information received, in “extreme cases, delay [could] result in a form of 116 legally sanctioned impunity for the perpetrators of violations.” 112 Anexo 11. Oficio No. 075-SERH-MIG-2000 de 1˚ de septiembre de 2000. Anexo 1 a la petición inicial recibida el 23 de febrero de 2006, Expediente de la Instrucción Fiscal No. 2316-2000 foja 44. 113 Supreme Decree 188, Official Registry 158 of February 8, 1971, Articles 2, 174. Article 174 established that for the exercise of the medical professions “it is required to have obtained or revalidated the academic degree by the universities […]. Those degrees have to be registered in the National Counsel for Higher Education CONESUP, in the Registry of Medical Professions of the Ministry of Health and in the Provincial Health Direction of the Geographic area where the profession has to be exercised.” 114 Article 1 establishes that for doctors to exercise legally the profession in the country “they must affiliate themselves to the Provincial Medical Schools previous compliance with the Rural Medicature and the inscription of the degree in the Ministry of Health”. In addition, Article 34 established that: “only doctors that would have legally obtained their professional degree in Ecuador or that would have duly revalidated the degree obtained abroad and that finding themselves protected by international treaties in force for Ecuador, be subjected to the legal provisions applicable, will be admitted to the exercise of the profession in the country. The degrees obtained like that will be registered in the Ministry of Public Health, having to observe the inscription established in Article 174 of the Code of Health, previous compliance with what is established in Article 175 of the same Code and the Rural Medicature.” Law of the Ecuadorian Medical Federation for exercise, improvement and professional defense (Supreme Decree No. 3576-A) available at: http://www.galeno21.com/SECCIONES%20DE%20APOYO/NOVEDADES/a13.htm. 115 In this regard, the Inter-American Court has ruled that the termination of the right to bring punitive action as a result of the passage of time is a guarantee that needs to be duly observed by the judge for the benefit of any defendant and that it is inapplicable to criminal actions where gross human rights violations in the terms of international law are involved. It has also ruled that the inadmissibility of statutory limitations does not apply if the facts of the case are not covered by the nonprescriptability provisions of the corresponding international treaties, as in the instant case. I/A Court H. R., Case of Albán Cornejo et al. v. Ecuador, Judgment of November 22, 2007, Series C No. 171, para. 111. See also: I/A Court H. R., Case of Barrios Altos v. Peru, Judgment of March 14, 2001, Series C No. 75, para. 41; Case of Almonacid Arellano v. Chile, Judgment of September 26, 2006, Series C No. 154, para. 110; and Case of the La Rochela Massacre v. Colombia, Judgment of May 11, 2007, Series C No. 163, para. 294. 116 The Inter-American Commission spoke about the right to judicial remedies and the administration of justice in its 1997 Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Ecuador. On that occasion, it noted that many violations of fundamental stemmed from shortcomings in the administration of justice, that delays were particularly common in the criminal justice system. See: See, IACHR, cont.