31 d) Civil actions 111. On May 4, 2004, and on May 15, 2007, Arlei José Escher and Dalton Luciano de Vargas, respectively, filed civil actions against the state of Paraná for reparation of nonpecuniary damage. The final judgment has not yet been handed down in these proceedings. However, the civil action filed by Dalton Luciano de Vargas was decided in first instance on August 9, 2007, and considered irreceivable. Mr. Vargas filed an appeal against this decision.114 e) Normative framework 112. At the time of the facts of this case, the 1988 Brazilian Constitution established the inviolability of the privacy, honor and reputation of the individual, as well as the confidentiality of telephone communications.115 Law No. 9,296/96 was also in force, which “regulates the final part of paragraph XII of Article 5 of the Federal Constitution” determining the circumstances and the requirements that should be observed in a telephone interception procedure for the purpose of criminal or pre-trial investigations. 2) The right to privacy, honor and reputation 113. Article 11 of the Convention prohibits all arbitrary or abusive interference in the private life of individuals, setting out different aspects of this, such as the privacy of their families, their home or their correspondence. In this regard, the Court has stated that “the sphere of privacy is characterized by being exempt and immune from abusive and arbitrary invasion by third parties or public authorities.”116 114. As this Court has indicated previously, even though telephone conversations are not expressly mentioned in Article 11 of the Convention, they are a form of communication included within the sphere of the protection of privacy.117 Article 11 protects conversations using telephone lines installed in private homes or in offices, whether their content is 114 Cf. Procedural motion referring to the civil action for reparation of damage filed by Arlei Escher Da Silva (file of attachments to the answer to the application, tome I, attachment 9, folio 2127); procedural motion referring to the civil action for reparation of damage filed by Dalton Luciano Vargas (file of attachments to the answer to the application, tome I, attachment 8, folio 2125); judgment of the Fourth Vara da Fazenda Pública of Curitiba of August 9, 2007, within the framework of the civil action filed by Dalton Luciano de Vargas (file of attachments to the application, tome II, appendix 3, folio 382). 115 Cf. Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil (file of attachments to the answer to the application, tome VIII, attachment 35, folios 3995 and 4039). Article 5. All persons are equal before the law, without distinctions of any nature, and Brazilians and foreigners residing in the country are guaranteed the inviolability of the right to life, to freedom, to equality, to security and to property, as follows: […] X. Intimacy, privacy, honor and a person’s reputation are inviolable, and the right to compensation for the pecuniary or non-pecuniary damage caused by their violation is guaranteed; […] XII. The confidentiality of correspondence and telegraphic communications, of data and of telephone communications is inviolable except, in the latter case, under the circumstances and in the way established by law for purposes of a criminal investigation or a pre-trial investigation; 116 Cf. Case of the Ituango Massacres, supra note 48, para. 194; Case of Escué Zapata v. Colombia. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of July 4, 2007. Series C No. 165, para. 95, and Case of Tristán Donoso, supra note 9, para. 55. 117 Cf. Case of Tristán Donoso, supra note 9, para. 55.