192. The Court has pointed out that Article 8 of the Convention establishes that victims of human rights violations, or their families, have should have ample opportunities to be heard and to act in the respective proceedings, both in order to clarify the facts and punish those responsible, and to seek appropriate reparation. 292 Likewise, it has held that Article 8 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture clearly establishes “if there is an accusation or wellgrounded reason to believe that an act of torture has been committed within their jurisdiction, the States Parties shall guarantee that their respective authorities will proceed properly and immediately to conduct an investigation into the case and to initiate, whenever appropriate, the corresponding criminal process.” 293 Also, the Court has pointed out that the obligation to investigate, and the corresponding right of the alleged victim or his family, not only stems from conventional standards of international law, which are binding upon the States Parties, but also from domestic legislation regarding the duty to investigate ex officio certain unlawful behavior and the rules that allow victims or their relatives to report or file complaints, evidence, petitions or engaged in any other proceeding, in order to participate in criminal investigation proceedings to determine the truth of the facts. 294 193. This Court notes that the investigation against the alleged perpetrators of torture was initiated more than three months after the first mention that those acts were committed against Messrs. Cabrera and Montiel. Moreover, the Court notes that said investigation was initiated at the express request of the petitioners, on August 26, 1999 (supra para. 74). Based on the foregoing, it is clear to this Court that the State failed to comply with its obligation to conduct an ex officio investigation into actions that violated the human rights of Messrs. Cabrera and Montiel. Consequently, the Court concludes that the State violated Article 8(1) of the American Convention, as well as Article 8 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture. 2. Jurisdiction of the military criminal justice system 194. In addition to the points mentioned concerning the ex officio investigation into the allegations of torture, the Court confirms that on October 10, 1999, the agent of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office submitted a question regarding lack of jurisdiction ratione materiae to the Agent of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office and State Representative of the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic in the state of Guerrero, considering that “the accused were on active service when they committed the unlawful actions and therefore those acts should be considered as violations of military discipline.” 295 On November 5, 1999, the Agent of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office decided to decline jurisdiction to continue with the corresponding investigations, to the Agent of the Military Prosecutor’s Office, 292 Case of Fernández Ortega et al. v. Mexico, supra note 39, para. 192; and Case of Rosendo Cantú et al. v. Mexico, supra note 30, para. 176. 293 Similarly, Case of Gutierrez Soler v. Colombia, supra note 204, para. 54. 294 Cf. By way of example, Article 141 of the Federal Code of Criminal Procedure recognizes the rights of victims or injured parties in the preliminary inquiry (Paragraph A), in the criminal proceeding (paragraph B) and during the enforcement of sanctions (Paragraph C). The Code of Criminal Procedures of the state of Guerrero, in Article 5, paragraph 1, recognizes the right of the victim or injured party to assist the Public Prosecutor's Office in providing members of the court with all the available information, so as to confirm the admissibility and degree of damage caused by the crime. Cited in the Case of Fernández Ortega et al. v. Mexico, supra note 39, para. 192. 295 Cf. Consultation on lack of jurisdiction ratione materiae of October 10, 1999 (Proceeding N° 91/CC/99) (File of attachments to the application, volume XII, page 4846 to 4849). 73