2
2.
The Order of the President of December 18, 2009, in which it decided to
summon the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the InterAmerican Commission” or “the Commission”), the Republic of El Salvador
(hereinafter "El Salvador” or “the State”), and the representatives of the
beneficiaries of the provisional measures (hereinafter “the representatives”) to a
public hearing with the purpose of obtaining information from the State about the
implementation of the provisional measures to protect the beneficiaries and, in
particular, about the existence of extreme gravity and urgency to avoid irreparable
damages to the beneficiaries and the necessity of maintaining their validity, as well
as to listen to the observations of the Commission and the representatives in this
sense.
3.
The allegations of the parties at the public hearing regarding the present
provisional measures, carried out on January 28, 2010, at the venue of the Tribunal.1
Considering:
1.
That El Salvador is a State Party to the American Convention on Human
Rights (hereinafter “the American Convention” or “the Convention”) since June 23,
1978, and, in accordance with Article 62 of the same, recognized the adjudicatory
jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court on June 6, 1995.
2.
That Article 63(2) of the Convention demands that in order for the Court to
provide provisional measures, three conditions must coincide: i) “extreme gravity;”
ii) “urgency;” and iii) that they lead to “avoid irreparable damage to persons.” These
three conditions must co-exist and must be present in every situation in which the
intervention of the Tribunal is requested. In the same way, the three conditions
described must persist for the Court to maintain the protection ordered. If one of the
conditions has ceased to exist, the Tribunal will evaluate the appropriateness of
continuing the protection ordered.2
3.
That in accordance with its jurisdiction in the framework of provisional
measures, the Court must consider only the arguments that relate strictly and
directly with extreme gravity, urgency, and the necessity to avoid irreparable
damage to persons. In this way, in order to decide maintaining the validity of the
provisional measures, the Tribunal must analyze if the situation of extreme gravity
and urgency that led to the adoption of the measures still exists, or if new
circumstances of extreme gravity and urgency merit their maintenance. Any other
issue can only be heard by the Court as a contentious case.3
1
The following people appear at said hearing: for the Inter-American Commission, Lilly Ching and
Silvia Serrano, advisors; for the representatives of the beneficiaries of the provisional measures, Benjamín
Cuellar Martínez, of IDHUCA, Henry Fino Solórzano, of IDHUCA, and Ms. Gisela de León of CEJIL; and for
the State: David Ernesto Morales Cruz, Agent and General Director of Human Rights of the Ministry of
Foreign Relations; Sebastián Vaquerano, Alternate Agent and Ambassador of the Republic of El Salvador in
Costa Rica, and Ms. Tania Camila Rosa, Sub Director of Human Rights of the Ministry of Foreign Relations.
2
Case of Carpio Nicolle. Provisional Measures regarding Guatemala. Order of the Court of July 6,
2009, considering fourteenth; Matter of Guerrero Larez. Proovisional Measures regarding Venezuela. Order
of the Court of November 17, 2009, considering tenth; and Case of the Rochela Massacre. Provisional
Measures regarding Colombia. Order of the Court of November 19, 2009, considering fourteenth.
3
Matter of James et al. Provisional Measures regarding Trinidad and Tobago. Order of the Court of
August 10, 1998, considering sixth; Matter of the Penitentiary Center of the Central Occidental Region
(Uribana Prison). Provisional Measures regarding Venezuela. Order of the Court of November 24, 2009,