F. The investigation of the events 156. In response to the complaints filed following the events of the taking and retaking of the Palace of Justice, 194 several investigations have been conducted into what happened, including with regard to the persons disappeared, as well as to those presumably detained and tortured. On November 13, 1985, the National Government, by Decree 3300, ordered the creation of a Special Investigative Court “responsible for investigating the offenses committed on the occasion of the violent taking of the Palace of Justice of Bogota.” 195 The Special Court was commissioned to prepare a report, a copy of which had to be forwarded “to the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court of Justice, and the Attorney General. In addition, it [was to] be sent to the competent judges for the pertinent effects.” 196 157. In parallel, on November 21, 1985, the Army Command “ordered the opening of a preliminary investigation” and, to this end, the Sixth Military Criminal Investigation Court gathered “abundant testimonial evidence” and “directed that the criminal investigation be formally opened, ordering that the necessary measures be taken to establish the truth.” 197 The information collected was sent to the Special Court in December 1985 (supra para. 156). 198 158. The report of the Special Investigative Court was presented on May 31, 1986, and it concluded that “the M-19 was solely and exclusively responsible for the attack on, and occupation of, the Palace of Justice.” Nevertheless, it indicated that “[t]he investigation was able to determine irregular actions that need to be fully clarified, [which] reveal isolated individual actions executed in default of superior orders, unrelated to the military institution.” Among these actions, the Special Court included the exit alive from the Palace of Justice and subsequent disappearance of Irma Franco Pineda, the detention of Orlando Quijano, Eduardo Matson Ospino and Yolanda Santodomingo Albericci, and also the “illtreatment [to which the latter were subjected] by their interrogators.” The Special 194 Starting in November 1985, the next of kin of “at least 11 of the disappeared approached different law offices in order to clarify what had happened to their relatives.” Cf. Report of the Truth Commission (evidence file, folio 281); letter from Enrique Rodríguez Hernández to the Special Investigative Court of November 20, 1985 (evidence file, folios 35867 and 35868); letter from Enrique Rodríguez Hernández to the Special Attorney assigned to the Military Forces of November 19, 1985 (evidence file, folios 35869 and 35870); letter from Cecilia Cabrera de Rodríguez to the Supreme Court of Justice of November 19, 1985 (evidence file, folios 35871 and 35872); letter from Enrique Rodríguez Hernández to the Minister of Defense of November 18, 1985 (evidence file, folio 35873); letter from Cecilia Cabrera and others to the Minister of Justice of November 12, 1985 (evidence file, folios 35874 and 35875), and report of the Attorney General’s office evaluating the proceedings opened owing to those presumed disappeared from the Palace of Justice of September 15, 1988 (evidence file, folio 31049). 195 The decree established that the Special Court was composed of two justices selected by the Supreme Court of Justice. Cf. Decree 3300 of 1985, Official Gazette No. 37,228 of November 13, 1985, article 1 (evidence file, folio 1643); report of the Special Investigative Court (evidence file, folio 30481). See also, testimony of Jaime Castro Castro during the public hearing on the merits in this case. Prior to the creation of the Special Investigative Court, based on his competence the Second Special Judge had conducted the investigation into the events and had ordered a working group of ten – itinerant – criminal investigation judges to carry out different investigative tasks, diving the work by issues, all related to the central event that was the subject of the proceedings. The Special Investigative Court adopted this working method. 196 Decree 3300 of 1985, Official Gazette No. 37,228 of November 13, 1985, article 9 (evidence file, folio 1644). On May 8, 1986, the Supreme Court of Justice analyzed the enforceability of Decree 3300 and clarified that the Special Investigative Court “is not empowered to hear and decide on the crimes investigated,” so that it would not take decisions on the “merits or rule on the merits determining responsibilities,” but rather would prepare a report to be sent to the competent judges. Cf. Report of the Truth Commission (evidence file, folios 275 and 276). 197 Order of the Sixth Military Criminal Investigation Court of November 22, 1985 (evidence file, folios 22760 and 22761) and Cf. General Command of the Military Forces, Head of the Joint Chief of Staff, Special First Instance Court, judgment of June 27, 1994 (evidence file, folio 1317). 198 Cf. General Command of the Military Forces, Head of the Joint Chief of Staff, Special First Instance Court, judgment of June 27, 1994 (evidence file, folio 1317), and order of the Army Command of December 9, 1985, deciding to forward the proceedings to the Special Investigative Court (evidence file, folio 22763). 54