I INTRODUCTION OF THE CASE AND CAUSE OF ACTION 1. The case submitted to the Court. On August 5, 2020, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter-American Commission” or “the Commission”) submitted to the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court the case of “Ronald Moya Chacón and Freddy Parrales Chaves” against the Republic of Costa Rica (hereinafter “the State” or “Costa Rica”). According to the Commission the case relates to the imposition of subsequent liability for the alleged legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression by the journalists, Ronald Moya Chacón and Freddy Parrales Chaves. The Commission concluded that the sentence to pay civil compensation for nonpecuniary damage due to the publication of a newspaper article reporting presumed irregularities in the control of the smuggling of liquor into Costa Rica involved the violation of the rights recognized in Articles 13 (Freedom of Thought and Expression) and 9 (Freedom from Ex Post Facto Laws) of the American Convention, in relation to Articles 1(1) (Obligation to Respect Rights) and 2 (Domestic Legal Effects), to the detriment of the said journalists. 2. Procedure before the Commission. The procedure before the Commission was as follows: a) Petition. On August 29, 2008, Pedro Nikken and Carlos Ayala Corao lodged the initial petition before the Commission. b) Admissibility Report. On August 15, 2014, the Commission adopted Admissibility Report No. 75/14 in which it concluded that the petition was admissible. 1 c) Merits Report. On September 28, 2019, the Commission adopted Merits Report No. 148/19, under Article 50 of the Convention (hereinafter “the Merits Report” or “Report No. 148/19”), in which it reached a series of conclusions and made several recommendations to the State. d) Notification to the State. The Merits Report was notified to the State on December 5, 2019, granting it two months to report on compliance with the recommendations. After the Commission had agreed to a first extension of two months and a second of three months, the State of Costa Rica presented a report in which, according to the Commission, it failed to provide information on progress in compliance with the recommendations or to request a further extension of the time frame. 3. Submission to the Court. On August 5, 2020, the Commission submitted to the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court all the facts and human rights violations described in the Merits Report “given the need to obtain justice and reparation.” 2 4. The Inter-American Commission’s requests. Based on the foregoing, the Commission asked the Court to declare the international responsibility of the State for 1 This was notified to the parties on October 2, 2014. The Commission appointed Commissioner Julissa Mantilla Falcón, then Special Rapporteur for Freedom of expression, Edison Lanza, and then Executive Secretary Paulo Abrão as its delegates before the Court. It also appointed Marisol Blanchard Vera, Deputy Executive Secretary, together with Jorge Humberto Meza Flores and Cecilia La Hoz Barrera, Executive Secretariat experts, as legal advisers. 2 3