Human rights — Right to life — Inhuman and degrading treatment — Disappearances — Individual abducted by State agents for alleged political involvement, held incommunicado and tortured — Victim never reappearing — Authorities denying knowledge of whereabouts of victim — Legal attempts to secure release of victim unsuccessful — Whether State sponsored or tolerated practice of forced disappearances — Whether State responsible for violation of individual’s rights to life, integrity of the person and personal liberty — American Convention on Human Rights, 1969, Articles 4, 5 and 7

State responsibility — Human rights violations — Disappearance of individuals — Whether carried out or tolerated by State authorities — Failure of State to act to stop practice or investigate disappearances — Whether State liable for violations of rights to life, integrity of the person and personal liberty — Whether State liable for breach of duty to ensure free and full exercise of individual’s human rights — American Convention on Human Rights, 1969, Articles 1(1), 4, 5 and 7

International tribunals — Procedure — Inter-American Court of Human Rights — Contentious matters — Case referred by Inter-American Commission on Human Rights — Competence of Court to decide issues relating to interpretation and application of Convention and procedural rules not restricted by previous decisions of Commission in same case — Exhaustion of domestic remedies — Exhaustion of preliminary procedures — Friendly settlement

Damages — For human rights violations — Scope, basis and amount of compensation — Pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages — Emotional harm — Method of calculation — Relevance of national law relating to calculation of compensation for violation of international law — Entitlement to compensation — Victim and next to kin — Manner in which kinship established — American Convention on Human Rights, 1969, Article 63(1)