51
in a judgment. Regarding reimbursement for costs and expenses, it is for the Court to
prudently assess their scope, which includes the expenses arising before the authorities
of the domestic jurisdiction and also those generated during the proceedings before the
inter-American system, taking into account the circumstances of the specific case and the
nature of the international jurisdiction of the protection of human rights. This assessment
may be made based on the principle of equity and considering the expenses indicated by
the parties, provided their quantum is reasonable.240
194. The Court has expressed that “the claims of the victims or their representatives with
respect to costs and expenses, and the evidence that sustains them, must be presented
to the Court at the first procedural moment, in other words, in the brief with pleadings
and motions, unless such claims are made current at a subsequent time, in accordance
with new costs and expenses that have been incurred in the proceedings before the
Court.”241 The Court also reiterates that it is not sufficient to remit evidentiary documents,
rather the parties must provide the rationale that relates the evidence to the fact under
consideration and, in the case of alleged financial disbursements, the items and their
justification must be described clearly.242
195. The Court takes note that vouchers were not submitted for the expenses involved in
the national and international quest for justice for the violations suffered by members of
the Community, other than an affidavit243 that was not sufficient to prove the amounts
requested since no vouchers of any nature were submitted and that, moreover, the
statement refers to expenses that would have been made both before the presentation of
the brief with pleadings and motions as well as subsequently. Nevertheless, the Court
considers that it may be presumed that the GAM incurred expenses in the domestic quest
for justice and internationally before the inter-American system. Therefore, the Court sets
the payment of a total of USD 30.000,00 (thirty thousand United States dollars) for the
concept of costs and expenses. This amount is to be delivered to the GAM. In the
monitoring compliance phase of this judgment, the Court will order the reimbursement by
the State to the victims or their representatives of the reasonable expenses duly proved
for this procedural step.244
G.
Method of compliance of the payments ordered
196. The State shall make the payment of compensation for the pecuniary and nonpecuniary damages and the reimbursement of costs and expenses ordered in this
judgment directly to the persons indicated therein, within one year of notification of this
judgment, although the State may make full payment at an earlier date, in the terms of
the following paragraphs.
197. If the persons who were alive at the time of the delivery of this judgment die before
the State makes the corresponding payment, this shall be delivered directly to their heirs,
in accordance with the applicable domestic law.
Cf. Case of Garrido and Baigorria v. Argentina. Reparations and Costs. Judgment of August 27, 1998. Series
C No. 39, para. 82 and Case of Herzog et al. v. Brazil, supra, para. 401.
241
Case of Garrido and Baigorria v. Argentina, supra, para. 82 and Case of Ramírez Escobar et al. v. Guatemala,
supra, para. 424.
242
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 Amrhein et al. v. Costa Rica,
supra, para. 494.
243
Cf. Affidavit of March 8, 2018 of the Administrator of the GAM (evidence file, annex 5 to the final written
arguments of the representative, fs. 5590 to 5595).
244
Cf. Case of the Xákmok Kásek Indigenous Community v. Paraguay. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment
of August 24, 2010. Series C No. 214, para. 331 and Case of Herzog et al. v. Brazil, supra, para. 404.
240