Commission advised that when Report No. 80/17 was adopted [sic] the State had not presented its comments on compliance with the recommendations. 3. Submission to the Court. On December 6, 2017, the Commission submitted to the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court all the facts and alleged human rights violations described in the Merits Report “owing to the need to obtain justice for the direct victims and their family members.” It asked the Court to declare the international responsibility of Venezuela for violating the rights indicated in the conclusions to the said report. In addition, it asked that the Court order certain measures of reparation (infra Chapter VIII). II. PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COURT 4. Notification to the State and to the representatives. 3 The submission of the case was notified to the representatives and to the State on February 9, 2018. 5. Brief with pleadings, motions and evidence. On April 16, 2018, the representatives presented their brief with pleadings, motions and evidence (hereinafter “pleadings and motions brief”), under Articles 25 and 40 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure. 6. Answering brief.4 On July 16, 2018, the State presented its brief answering the submission of the case and the pleadings and motions brief (hereinafter “answering brief”), in which it filed a preliminary objection under Article 41 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure. 7. Observations on the preliminary objection. On September 14, 2018, the Commission presented its observations on the preliminary objection. The representatives presented their brief with observations on the preliminary objection belatedly; consequently, the full Court decided that the brief was time-barred and, therefore, inadmissible, and that it would not be forwarded to the State and to the Commission. 8. Public hearing. In an order of December 7, 2018, the President of the Court called the parties and the Commission to a public hearing. This took place on January 31, 2019, during the Court’s 129th regular session, which was held at the seat of the Court in San José, Costa Rica.5 9. Amicus curiae. On February 14, 2019, the Instituto Interamericano de Responsabilidad Social y Derechos Humanos presented an amicus curiae brief.6 10. Final written arguments and observations. On March 4, 2019, the State and the representatives presented their briefs with final written arguments and the Commission submitted its final written observations. 11. Disbursements from the Legal Assistance Fund. On July 22, 2019, on the instructions of the President of the Court, the Secretariat forwarded the State a report on the disbursements made in application of the Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund in this case, granting The representatives of the alleged victims are: Luis Manuel Aguilera, Secretary General of the Commission for Human Rights, Justice and Peace of Aragua state and José Gregorio Guarenas, representative of the Vicaría de Derechos Humanos de Caracas. 3 4 The State appointed Larry Devoe Márquez as its Agent for this case. At this hearing, there appeared: (a) for the Inter-American Commission: Francisco Eguiguren Praeli, Silvia Serrano Guzmán and Piero Vásquez Agüero; (b) for the representatives: José Gregorio Guarenas, María Daniela Rivero, Santiago Medina and Julio Puerta, and (c) for the State of Venezuela: Larry Devoe Márquez and Cristóbal Cornieles Perret-Gentil. 5 The brief relates to: (a) intent in international human rights law; (b) extrajudicial execution in the Court’s case law over the last three years, and (c) the Court’s case law in cases involving extrajudicial executions committed in Aragua state, Venezuela. 6 -5-