19 stated in the complaint. As a result of the change in the charges, the Sixth Chamber declared that the statute of limitations had run out on the criminal action against said defendant. The victims challenged the court order holding the action timebarred under the statute of limitations through a request for revocation (recurso de revocatoria) and an appeal for review (recurso de casación), both of which were dismissed, with the responsible parties thus going unpunished; and e) the state authorities’ complete failure to take measures aimed at locating and arresting the accused, Dr. Espinoza-Cuesta, who is a fugitive from justice, entails a failure to comply with the obligations undertaken by Ecuador as a State Party to the Convention regarding the duty to investigate. The state authorities’ omissions have led to impunity for the violations. 57. Based on the foregoing, the Commission concluded that the State adopted a passive stance during the investigation process, thus shifting onto the alleged victims the burden of preparing the criminal action and driving the investigation forward to find out the truth. The Commission added that the State failed to guarantee the alleged victims’ access to justice through an effective recourse, in line with the standards of the Convention, to investigate the death of Laura Albán. Finally, it noted that the State failed to timely prosecute the perpetrators of the crime. 58. The representatives36 agreed on the arguments submitted by the Commission and noted that the proceedings did not meet the required guarantees and were not carried out within a reasonable time, since the state authorities failed to drive the case forward with the required diligence in order to establish that a crime had been committed. Therefore, the State failed to comply with its obligations to investigate, follow, apprehend, prosecute and, if applicable, convict those responsible for the death of Miss Albán-Cornejo. They further contended that the State completely disregarded the submitted evidence, leaving the victims without any sort of judicial protection, which has allowed those responsible for the death of Miss Albán-Cornejo to go unpunished. 59. According to the State, at no time has it hindered Laura Albán’s parents’ access to justice, as they were heard by the competent authorities and were afforded an opportunity to pursue various judicial remedies. It argued that it cannot be held internationally liable for the failure to institute proceedings to investigate a criminal act not known by it, and that the delay in a proceeding that extended for less than five years cannot be described as unreasonable. It further maintained that the civil judge acted diligently in ordering the production of Miss Albán’s medical file by the Metropolitan Hospital. Regarding the order of December 13, 1999, the State observed that, in spite of the dismissal, in exercise of its reviewing authority over the order of the lower court, the Sixth Chamber did declare that the statute of limitations had run out on the charges of “manslaughter” against Dr. Ramiro Montenegro-López, the attending physician, on the grounds that the action was time-barred, and set the case for the trial of Dr. Espinoza-Cuesta, the resident physician. 35 Article 456 of the Criminal Code provides that “where voluntarily administered substances which may seriously affect health have been administered without intent to cause death but have nevertheless produced such result, such offense shall be punished with incarceration from three to six years.” 36 In the brief containing pleadings and motions, the representatives made separate reference to Articles 8 and 25 of the American Convention. However, at the public hearing and in their final arguments, they relied on said articles jointly.