64 those examined in these international proceedings. Furthermore, some institutions have the constitutional or legal power to request such information pursuant to their mandate, especially in response to requests from the judicial authorities, the Office of the Attorney General and the Human Rights Ombudsman. The also State reported that on April 8, 2011, the Law on Access to Public Information went into effect. This law established an internal mechanism for accessing information, including that related to governmental activities presumably linked to the disappearance of children during the internal armed conflict, and created the Institute for Access to Public Information as the body responsible for safeguarding the application of that law. Considerations of the Court 208. In the Case of Contreras et al., the Court ordered the State to “adopt the pertinent and appropriate measures to guarantee to agents of justice, as well as Salvadoran society, public, technical and systematized access to the archives that contain useful information that is relevant to the investigation in cases prosecuted for human rights violations during the armed conflict.”303 209. In the instant case, as in previous ones,304 the Court has observed that one of the constraints to progress in the investigations is the lack of access to the information contained in archives on the counterinsurgency operations, and on the individuals and military units that took part in the operations in which the victims in this case were disappeared, including their rank, functions and responsibilities. Since this information is of vital importance for advancing the judicial investigations and those of the Public Prosecution Service, as well as for helping to identify and individualize those responsible, the Court deems it pertinent to reiterate that the State must adopt, as soon as possible, pertinent and adequate measures to guarantee to agents of justice and Salvadoran society, public, technical and systematic access to the archives containing information that is useful and relevant to the investigation in cases involving human rights violations during the armed conflict. These measures must be supported by adequate budgetary allocations. This implies that the National Search Commission and the Public Prosecution Service and, where appropriate, the judicial authorities, must make use of their powers to enter the relevant facilities and, if applicable, inspect the corresponding archives. 5. Request to adapt domestic legislation 210. The representatives considered that the General Amnesty Law for the Consolidation of Peace constitutes an obstacle to justice, and therefore asked the Court to urge the State to adapt its domestic legislation to the standards of international human rights law and order the State to conduct investigations into the involvement of all military, paramilitary or other personnel who could have participated in the disappearance of the children in the instant case. 211. The State did not present specific arguments regarding these requests, although it provided information related to the General Amnesty Law for the Consolidation of Peace (supra para. 135). Considerations of the Court 212. The Court has indicated previously that, given the seriousness of these human rights violations, and considering the continuing or permanent nature of forced disappearance, the effects of which persist until the fate or whereabouts of the victims has been established and their identity determined, the State must refrain from resorting to mechanisms such as amnesty for the perpetrators, or any 303 Case of Contreras et al. v. El Salvador, supra, tenth operative paragraph. Cf. Case of the Serrano Cruz Sisters v. El Salvador. Merits, reparations and costs, supra, paras. 93 to 96, and Case of Contreras et al. v. El Salvador, supra, paras. 168 and 169. 304