30 136. To begin with, the Commission notes that “the status of refugee is one which derives from the circumstances of the person; it is recognized by the State rather than conferred by it. The purpose of 123 the applicable procedures is to ensure that it is recognized in every case where that is justified.” The Commission also notes that that an applicant for refugee status is normally in a particularly vulnerable 124 situation. In that regard, any refugee determination process implies an assessment and a decision on the possible risk of impairment of the most basic rights, such as the rights to life, personal integrity, and personal liberty. Therefore, the design and implementation of these proceedings should start from this fundamental premise so that they can effectively achieve the essential purpose of protection that they pursue. 137. On this point, in its Report on the Situation of Human Rights of Asylum Seekers within the Canadian Refugee Determination System, the Commission held that: The process of determining who is or is not a refugee involves making case by case determinations that may affect the liberty, personal integrity, and even the life of the person concerned. As is evident, the factors which lead individuals to flee persecution are often highly specific to their particular situation. At the same time, the basic principles of equal protection and due process reflected in the American Declaration require predictable procedures and consistency in decision125 making at each stage of the process. (…) In many cases concerning eligibility, for example, determinations are not administrative but substantive in nature, requiring appropriate procedural guarantees. The effective observance of the rights of asylum seekers and the obligation of non-return necessarily presuppose the existence of a procedure to effectively determine who is entitled to be accorded these protections. It is axiomatic that the effective protection of rights requires a procedural framework which offers the necessary 126 minimum guarantees. 138. As is noted above, the right to seek and be granted asylum implies no guarantee that it will be granted. However, this right contained in article 22(7) of the American Convention necessarily 127 requires that the claimant be heard in presenting the application. That is, while the applicable international law on refugees leaves it to states to determine the procedures and authorities for giving effect to the right to seek and be granted asylum, this determination cannot lose sight of the fact that “the nature of the rights potentially at issue – for example, to life and to be free from torture – requires the strictest adherence to all applicable safeguards.” 128 139. Similar to what was mentioned above with respect to fair trial guarantees in immigration proceedings that can end in a person's deportation or expulsion, in the case of asylum determination procedures the guarantees contained in articles 8(1) and 8(2) of the American Convention are, mutatis mutandis, applicable. In the case of refugee determination processes, these guarantees do not arise from the punitive nature of the procedure but from the nature of the rights that could be impaired by a mistaken determination of the risk or an unfavorable response in the context of a proceeding that does not satisfy 123 IACHR, Report on the Situation of Human Rights of Asylum Seekers within the Canadian Refugee Determination System. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.106. Doc. 40. Rev. 1. February 28, 2000. par. 70. 124 Office of the UNHCR, Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status (reedited, Geneva, 1992) par. 190. 125 IACHR, Report on the Situation of Human Rights of Asylum Seekers within the Canadian Refugee Determination System. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.106. Doc. 40. Rev. 1. February 28, 2000. par. 52. 126 IACHR, Report on the Situation of Human Rights of Asylum Seekers within the Canadian Refugee Determination System. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.106. Doc. 40. Rev. 1. February 28, 2000. par. 62. 127 IACHR, Report on the Situation of Human Rights of Asylum Seekers within the Canadian Refugee Determination System. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.106. Doc. 40. Rev. 1. February 28, 2000. par. 60. 128 IACHR, Report on the Situation of Human Rights of Asylum Seekers within the Canadian Refugee Determination System. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.106. Doc. 40. Rev. 1. February 28, 2000. par. 70.