end, States have the obligation to ensure that the institutional frameworks are not designed in such a way that they lead to or encourage impunity when such crimes occur.139 In addition, States must ensure that the bodies responsible for investigating, prosecuting, and punishing the perpetrators of those crimes have the necessary conditions to do their work properly.140 133. Accordingly, States must assign the responsibility for investigating and prosecuting these crimes to the authorities that are in the best position to adjudicate them and that have the autonomy and independence to act. In this respect, not only must they ensure the hierarchical and institutional independence of the authorities charged with conducting the investigations and the judicial proceedings but they must also be able to practically verify that independence in the specific case.141 States must ensure that the judges and prosecutors with jurisdiction over cases of violence against journalists can operate without being subjected to the influence of the government official or criminal organization allegedly involved in the crime, in view of evidence of their participation in the act of violence. In the event that the investigative and prosecutorial bodies function within this sphere of influence, the State has the duty to provide them with sufficient capacity to resist that influence.142 134. Additionally, the IACHR has observed that it is important for States to clearly define the procedural jurisdiction of the authorities in charge of investigating and prosecuting these crimes. This is especially essential in determining who has the authority to take over an investigation, in those cases in which the domestic legal framework allows for federal authorities or authorities from a jurisdiction other than the one in which the crime was committed to do so.143 135. The obligation to adopt an adequate institutional framework also includes the duty to take all necessary measures to protect judges, prosecutors, witnesses, and other individuals involved in criminal investigations from outside pressures such as threats, attacks, and other forms of intimidation.144 States thus 139 IACHR. 2013 Annual Report. Report of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. Chapter III (Violence against Journalists and Media Workers: Inter-American Standards and National Practices on Prevention, Protection and Prosecution of Perpetrators). OEA/Ser.L/V/II.149. Doc. 50. December 31, 2013. Para. 175; United Nations General Assembly. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue. A/HRC/20/17. June 4, 2012. Para. 57. Available at: http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G12/137/87/PDF/G1213787.pdf?OpenElement 140 IACHR. 2013 Annual Report. Report of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. Chapter III (Violence against Journalists and Media Workers: Inter-American Standards and National Practices on Prevention, Protection and Prosecution of Perpetrators). OEA/Ser.L/V/II.149. Doc. 50. December 31, 2013. Para. 175. 141 IACHR. Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. Special Study on the Status of Investigations into the Murder of Journalists during the 1995-2005 Period for Reasons That May Be Related to Their Work in Journalism. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.131. Doc. 35. March 8, 2008. Para. 58, citing IACHR. Case of Baldeón García v. Peru. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of April 6, 2006. Series C No. 147. Para. 95; The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, the Organization of American States (OAS) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information. June 25, 2012. Joint Declaration on Crimes against Freedom of Expression; European Court of Human Rights. Case of Adali v. Turkey. Application no. 38187/97. Judgment. 31 March 2005. Para. 222. “This means not only a lack of hierarchical or institutional connection but also a practical independence (see, for example, Ergi v. Turkey, judgment of 28 July 1998, Reports 1998-IV, §§ 83-84, where the public prosecutor investigating the death of a girl during an alleged clash showed a lack of independence through his heavy reliance on the information provided by the gendarmes implicated in the incident).” 142 IACHR. 2013 Annual Report. Report of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. Chapter III (Violence against Journalists and Media Workers: Inter-American Standards and National Practices on Prevention, Protection and Prosecution of Perpetrators). OEA/Ser.L/V/II.149. Doc. 50. December 31, 2013. Para. 176; The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, the Organization of American States (OAS) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information. June 25, 2012. Joint Declaration on Crimes against Freedom of Expression; United Nations General Assembly. Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns. A/HRC/20/22. April 10, 2012. Para. 113. 143 IACHR. 2013 Annual Report. Report of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. Chapter III (Violence against Journalists and Media Workers: Inter-American Standards and National Practices on Prevention, Protection and Prosecution of Perpetrators). OEA/Ser.L/V/II.149. Doc. 50. December 31, 2013. Para. 183. 144 IACHR. Second Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in the Americas. OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 66. December 31, 2011. Paras. 383 & 385; IACHR. 2013 Annual Report. Report of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. Chapter [continues …]