## Facts

- Nicholas Chapman Blake, a U.S. journalist, disappeared in Guatemala in March 1985 while traveling in the Quiché region; he was taken by members of Civil Self-Defense Patrols, killed, and his body concealed and later burned.
- Blake’s family learned of his disappearance in April 1985 and undertook repeated efforts to locate him and secure official action, including contacting Guatemalan and U.S. authorities and hiring a private investigator.
- State-linked actors obstructed efforts to clarify Blake’s fate, including concealment of information, inconsistent accounts, and interference with investigation.
- By 1987, information indicated the bodies had been burned on orders connected to a military commander with authority over patrols.
- In June 1992, Blake’s remains were found and identified; official documentation confirmed death in 1985.
- In November 1993, Blake’s relatives filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights alleging multiple violations of the American Convention on Human Rights arising from the disappearance, killing, and subsequent denial of justice.
- The Commission found responsibility and issued recommendations; after noncompliance, it filed the case with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in August 1995.
- Guatemala argued the Court lacked temporal jurisdiction because it accepted the Court’s contentious jurisdiction only for events after March 9, 1987, while the abduction and killing occurred in 1985.

## Issues

1. Whether the Court had *ratione temporis* jurisdiction when the disappearance and killing occurred before Guatemala accepted the Court’s contentious jurisdiction.
2. Whether alleged continuing acts or omissions—such as concealment, failure to investigate, and denial of judicial protection—constituted violations extending beyond the acceptance date and thus fell within the Court’s competence.

## Decision

- The Court rejected Guatemala’s preliminary objection on temporal jurisdiction.
- The Court held it could examine alleged violations occurring after March 9, 1987, and violations whose effects continued after that date.
- The Court treated the alleged concealment of the victim’s fate and remains, and the ongoing failure to investigate and provide effective judicial remedies, as a continuing situation extending into the period covered by the Court’s jurisdiction.
- The case was declared admissible, and the Court retained jurisdiction to proceed to the merits.

## Legal Principles

- A state’s acceptance of a court’s contentious jurisdiction does not bar review of violations that are continuing in nature during the post-acceptance period, even if initial acts began earlier.
- Enforced disappearance is a continuing violation for as long as the victim’s fate or whereabouts have not been determined.
- Persistent failure to investigate, prosecute, and provide judicial guarantees and protection can constitute ongoing violations while the state remains inactive or obstructive.
- Temporal jurisdiction may cover post-acceptance omissions and continuing effects connected to earlier events, to the extent the alleged breaches persist into the jurisdictional period.

## Conclusion

The Court held that, despite the victim’s 1985 disappearance and killing preceding Guatemala’s 1987 acceptance of contentious jurisdiction, the alleged ongoing concealment and denial of justice extended beyond the acceptance date, bringing the post-1987 phase of the case within the Court’s temporal jurisdiction.


Case of Blake v. Guatemala, Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (Ser. C) No. 27 (1996)