6 8. Public hearing. On December 13, 2017, the President of the Court 4 (hereinafter also “the President”) issued an order that called the State, the representative, and the Commission to a public hearing on the merits, reparations, and costs and to receive the final oral arguments of the parties and the final oral observations of the Commission.5 The order also called two alleged victims to the hearing. In addition, it ordered that the affidavits of an alleged victim and an expert be received. The public hearing was held at the Court’s seat on February 9, 2018, during its 121st regular session.6 At the hearing, the judges requested information and explanations of the parties and of the Commission. 9. Final written arguments and observations. On March 9, 2018, the representative and the State submitted their final written arguments, as well as certain annexes. Three days later, the Commission presented its final written observations. On April 2, 2018, the representative and the State presented their observations to the documentary annexes presented by the other party, while the Commission informed that it had no observations on that documentation. 10. Provisional measures. On February 8, 2018, the Court adopted provisional measures on behalf of the alleged victims Efraín Grave Morente, Natividad Sales Calmo and Tomás Grave Morente, as well as on behalf of Maynor Estuardo Alvarado Galeano and Karla Lorena Campos Flores, lawyers of the representative.7 The measures are still in force. 11. Deliberation of the case. The Court deliberated on this judgment on August 21 and 22, 2018. III. JURISDICTION 12. The Court has jurisdiction to hear this case, pursuant to Article 62(3) of the Convention, as Guatemala has been a State Party to the American Convention since May 25, 1978 and recognized the contentious jurisdiction of the Court on March 9, 1987. IV. PRIOR CONSIDERATION OF THE DETERMINATION OF ALLEGED VICTIMS A. Arguments of the Commission and of the parties (COPREDEH). On November 6, 2017, it informed of the appointment of Felipe Sánchez González as the new Executive Director of COPREDEH. 4 For reasons of force majeure, the order was issued by Eduardo Ferrer Mac-Gregor Poisot, the then Vice President of the Court, who assumed on that date the Acting Presidency with respect to this case, pursuant to Articles 4(2) and 5 of the Rules. 5 Cf. Case of Coc Max et al. v. Guatemala. Call to a public hearing. Order of the President of the Court of December 13,2017. Available at: http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/asuntos/cocmax_13_12_17.pdf 6 Appearing at the hearing were: (a) for the Commission: Selene Soto Rodríguez, a staff lawyer; (b) for the representative of the alleged victims: Efraín Grave Morente, representative of the “Aurora 8 de octubre” Community; Maynor Estuardo Alvarado Galeano and Karla Lorena Campos Flores, lawyers, and (c) for the State: Ambassador Juan Carlos Orellana Juárez; Felipe Sánchez González, Executive Director of COPREDEH; Lourdes Woolfolk Contreras, Director of Follow-up of International Human Rights Cases of COPREDEH, and Blanca Mariola Castañeda López, Prosecutor of the Public Prosecution Service. 7 On February 1, 2018, the representative requested provisional measures on behalf of “all the members of the Community.” Later, when it was asked for “detailed information” on the request, it identified only those five persons (Cf. Case of Coc Max et al. v. Guatemala. Adoption of Provisional Measures. Order of the InterAmerican Court of February 8, 2018, considering paragraph 7).