4 (hereinafter, the “President”) ordered, by means of a Resolution4 the submission of affidavits, testimonies of four witnesses and one expert witness proposed by the representatives, in respect of whom the parties had the opportunity to present their comments. Furthermore, the President convened the Commission, the representatives and the State to a public hearing to listen to the declarations of three witnesses and one expert witness, proposed by the Commission and the representatives, as well as the final oral arguments of the parties regarding the preliminary objection and merits, reparations and costs. Lastly, the President ordered the parties to present the final written arguments no later than May 12, 2009. 8. The public hearing was held on April 2, 2009 during its XXXVIII Extraordinary Period of Sessions, in the city of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.5 9. On April 22, 2009 the State presented the final written arguments, whereas the Commission and the representatives filed their arguments on May 11 and 12, respectively. 10. On April 23, 2009 the State presented an "extended pleading” and on May 8, of that same year, it forwarded a "supplemental pleading", both to the final written arguments, briefs that have been taken into account given the fact that they were forwarded within the time limit established to that effect (supra para. 7). 11. On June 30, 2009 Peru forwarded a brief entitled “comments to the final written arguments of the Commission and the representatives.” On July 22, 2009, following the instructions of the President, the Secretariat communicated to the parties that, considering that the forwarding of observations to the final written arguments of the other parties is not contemplated in the Rules of Procedure, said brief of the State should be considered inadmissible and therefore, the additional term to present comments, requested by the representatives, should also be considered inadmissible. III PRELIMINARY OBJECTION “Failure to exhaust domestic remedies” 12. The State alleged that in December 2008 “the Office of the Special Provincial Attorney for Human Rights of Peru filed a criminal complaint with the competent court, in order to conduct a judicial investigation”, for the alleged “crime against humanity- Forced Disappearance- to the detriment of the Society and Kenneth Ney Anzualdo Castro, among other people, and for breach of Public Order under conspiracy to commit a crime, to the detriment of the State.” Furthermore, it emphasized that the Third Special Criminal Trial Court issued an order for preliminary proceedings to commence on account of such complaint. 4 Cf. Order of the Court’s President of February 26, 2009. 5 To this hearing, there appeared: a) on behalf of the Inter-American Commission: Juan Pablo Albán and Lilly Ching, advisers; b) on behalf of the representatives: Jorge Abrego Hinostroza from APRODEH, and Ariela Peralta, Francisco Quintana and Alejandra Vicente for CEJIL; and c) on behalf of the State: Delia Muñoz Muñoz, Supranational Specialized Attorney General's Office, as Agent and Guillermo Santa María D´Angelo, attorney of the Supranational Specialized Attorney General’s Office, as Deputy Agent. Furthermore, the Tribunal listened to the testimony rendered by Felix Vicente Anzualdo Vicuña and Marly Arleny Anzualdo Castro and the expert opinion of the expert witness, José Pablo Baraybar Do Carmo.