they suffered, the Court will now establish, in equity, compensation for non-pecuniary damage
in favor of the victims, which should be paid directly to each of them.
397. The Court finds that the victims in this case were affected by the denial of justice and
truth, and this has caused them great suffering that had an impact on their family dynamics.
Consequently, the Court establishes, in equity, the sum of US$40,000.00 (forty thousand
United States dollars) each for non-pecuniary damage in favor of Clarice, André, Ivo and Zora
Herzog. With regard to Zora Herzog, who died in 2006, the amount established in this
paragraph must be paid directly to her heirs.
G.
Costs and expenses
398. The representatives requested payment of the expenses incurred in the processing
of these proceedings, from the submission of the petition before the Commission and including
the procedures carried out before the Court.
399. The costs and expenses of CEJIL amounted to US$161,237.50. The representatives
broke this sum down as follows: (i) US$14,241.13 for meetings and travel; (ii) US$190.11 for
mailing correspondence and photocopies; (iii) US$977.30 for research material and
stationery; (iv) US$145,239.62 for salaries, and (v) US$589.34 for notary expenses and
translations.
400.
The State asked that, if the Court did not declare its international responsibility, it
should not be sentenced to pay any amount for costs and expenses. However, if it was
sentenced to pay costs and expenses, the State indicated that this should be for reasonable
amounts that were duly verified to be directly related to the specific case. In particular, Brazil
considered that expenses for lawyers’ salaries did not comply with this requirements because
they were mere estimates that were impossible to corroborate.
401. The Court reiterates that, pursuant to its case law, costs and expenses form part of the
concept of reparation, because the activities undertaken by the victims in order to obtain
justice, at both the national and the international level, entail disbursements that must be
compensated when the international responsibility of the State has been declared in a
judgment convicting it. With regard to the reimbursement of expenses, it corresponds to the
Court to make a prudent assessment of their scope, which includes the expenses incurred
before the authorities of the domestic jurisdiction, and also those arising during the
proceedings before the inter-American system, taking into account the circumstances of the
specific case and the nature of the international jurisdiction for the protection of human rights.
This assessment may be made based on the equity principle and taking into account the
expenses indicated by the parties, provided the amount is reasonable. 409 As it has indicated
on other occasions, the Court recalls that it is not sufficient to merely forward probative
documents; rather, the parties must include arguments that relate the evidence to the fact
that it is considered to represent and that, in the case of alleged financial disbursements, the
items and their justification is clearly established. 410
402. From an analysis of the documentation provided, the Court concludes that some of the
amounts requested are justified and authenticated. However, some vouchers refer to general
expenses for office material, purchase of inputs, or salaries of lawyers without specifying their
409
Cf. Case of Garrido and Baigorria v. Argentina. Reparations and costs. Judgment of August 27, 1998. Series C No.
39, para. 82, Case of Andrade Salmón v. Bolivia, para. 210.
410
Cf. Case of Chaparro Álvarez and Lapo Íñiguez. v. Ecuador. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs.
Judgment of November 21, 2007. Series C No. 170, para. 277, and Case of Andrade Salmón v. Bolivia, para. 211.
99