7
Court heard the statements of the presumed victim I.V., witness Edgar Torrico Ameller, and expert
witnesses Christina Zampas and Erwin Hochstatter Arduz. In addition, the Court required the parties
to submit certain information and documentation. In particular, it requested a complete copy of the
case file of the administrative proceeding and of statements collected at the domestic level of those
who had been involved in or witnessed the bilateral tubal ligation procedure performed on I.V. The
affidavits were received on April 25, 28 and 29, 2016.
10.
Amici curiae. The Court receive amicus curiae briefs from: (1) the International Human Rights
Law Clinic of the Faculty of Law of Aix-en-Provence (France); (2) the Human Rights and Gender
Justice Clinic of the School of Law at the City University of New York (CUNY) and Women Enabled
International; (3) the Human Rights Clinic of the Law Faculty at the Universidad de Santa Clara and
the International Justice Resources Center (Bolivia); (4) the University of Sussex and the Rights and
Justice Research Centre; (5) the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic of the Law
School of the University of Yale and Women’s Link Worldwide, and (6) the Reproductive Rights
Center, on April 22, and May 10, 13, 14, 16 and 17, 2016, respectively.
11.
Final written arguments and observations. On May 31 and June 2, 2016, the representative
and the State, respectively, forwarded their final written arguments, as well as various annexes, and
on June 2, 2016, the Commission presented its final written observations.
12.
Helpful evidence. As the State did not forward all the information requested during the
respective hearing, since it did not submit a complete copy of the file of the administrative
proceeding, but only “significant documents” from this proceeding, and failed to remit the statements
collected at the domestic level of those who had been involved in or had witnessed the bilateral tubal
ligation procedure to which I.V. was subjected, it was asked to forward this information by June 24,
2016. On that date, the State remitted some clarifications concerning the helpful evidence. In
particular, it indicated that “the State’s institutions do not have the complete file of the […
administrative] proceeding.” Regarding the statements, it advised that these had been collected and
assessed opportunely by the jurisdictional authority during the criminal proceedings and were
referred to in the rulings of the administrative proceeding and the medical audits.
13.
Observations of the parties and the Commission. The President granted the parties and the
Commission a specific time frame to submit any observations they deemed pertinent on the annexes
forwarded by the State and the representative with their final written arguments. On July 5, 2016,
the State forwarded the observations requested. The representative did not send observations within
the time frame granted to this end and, following an extension, the Commission indicated that it had
no observations to present,
14.
Disbursements in application of the Legal Assistance Fund. On July 26, 2016, the Secretariat,
on the instructions of the President of the Court, sent the State information on the disbursements
made in application of the Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund in this case and, as provided for in article
5 of the Court’s Rules for the operation of the Fund, granted it a time frame to present any
observations it deemed pertinent. The State did not present observations within the respective time
frame.
15.
Deliberation of the case. The Court began deliberating this case on November 29, 2016.
Attorney General; the deputy agent, Carmiña Llorenti Barrientos, Solicitor General for the State’s Legal Defense and
Representation; the deputy agent, Israel Ramiro Campero Méndez, Director General for Defense of Human Rights and the
Environment; Guehiza Patricia Zeballos Grossberger, lawyer from the Attorney General’s Office, and Juana Inés Acosta López,
lawyer.