56 A practical guide to the Istanbul Protocol – for lawyers may also request that the Court order “provisional measures” in urgent cases which involve danger to persons, even where a case has not yet been submitted to the Court. Examination of the merits The information about the petition is sent to the State concerned and the State is requested to send its comments on the petition. If a response is received from the State, the author of the petition is asked to comment on the State’s response. The Commission may carry out its own investigations, conduct on-site visits or hold a hearing on the case in which both parties, the author of the petition and the State concerned, would be asked to present their arguments. The Commission may also offer to assist the parties in negotiating a friendly settlement. Types of decision The Commission will prepare a report on the case, which may include recommendations to the State concerned. The Commission may also present the case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. b. The Inter-American Court on Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an autonomous judicial institution whose purpose is the application and interpretation of the American Convention on Human Rights. The Court has adjudicatory and advisory jurisdiction. As regards its adjudicatory jurisdiction, only the Commission and the States Parties to the Convention are empowered to submit cases concerning the interpretation and application of the Convention. However, the procedures before the Commission called for under Articles 48-50 of the Convention must have been previously exhausted. In addition, in order that a case against a State Party to be brought before the Court, the State Party must recognise the jurisdiction of the Court. This may be done by a declaration accepting the Court’s jurisdiction in all cases or on the basis of reciprocity for a limited time or for a particular case. As regards the advisory function of the Court, Article 64 of the Convention provides that any member state of the Organisation may consult the Court on the interpretation of the Convention or of other treaties on the protection of human rights in the American states. This right of consultation also extends to the organs listed in Chapter X of the OAS Charter, within their sphere of action. The Court may also, at the request of any member state of the Organisation, issue an opinion on the compatibility of any of its domestic laws with the aforementioned international instruments. The States Parties to the Convention elected the first seven judges of the Court at its seventh special session of the OAS General Assembly (May 1979). The Court was officially installed in San José, Costa Rica, where it has its seat, on 3 September 1979.