time she was interned in the Miguel Castro Castro Prison prior to the events that took place from
May 6 to 9, 1992, on which this Court ruled in the said case.
C) On the admissibility of certain arguments of the representative
C.1 Admissibility of arguments during the public hearing and in the final
written arguments
32.
As mentioned previously, in this case the Court has declared inadmissible the legal
arguments and the claims for reparation presented by representative after the appropriate time
frame established in Article 40(d) of the Rules of Procedure had expired (supra para. 6). Despite
this, the Court observes that Article 29(2) of the Court’s Rules of Procedure establishes that
“[w]hen victims, alleged victims, or their representatives; the defendant State or, if applicable,
the petitioning State, enter a case at a later stage in the proceedings, they shall participate in the
proceedings at that stage.” In this regard, as in other cases, the Court may allow the parties to
take part in certain procedural measures, taking into account the stages that have expired based
24
on the appropriate procedural moment. The Court also observes that, contrary to other cases, in
the instant case only part of the motions and arguments brief was considered inadmissible because
it was time-barred. The other arguments of the representative contained in this brief were
presented in due form and at the appropriate time, so that they are admissible insofar as they refer
to the factual framework and purpose of this case.
33.
The Court notes that the representative had the procedural opportunity to participate fully in
the public hearing and, inter alia, to present her final oral and written arguments, which included
legal arguments and claims concerning reparations. In this regard, the Court considers that all the
legal arguments submitted during the said hearing are admissible, as well as those included in the
final written arguments that are related to the legal arguments submitted during the hearing, and
the answers and evidence strictly related to the questions posed by the judges during the
25
Nevertheless, the Court finds that, due to the principle of procedural preclusion, the
hearing.
specific claims of the representative with regard to reparations are not admissible, with the
exception of those referring to the costs and expenses incurred following the presentation of the
26
(infra para. 421). The Court also finds inadmissible the arguments
motions and arguments brief
concerning violations of the American Convention or the Convention of Belém do Pará submitted by
the representative after her motions and arguments brief and that are additional to those analyzed
27
without prejudice to the Court’s authority to take the
by the Commission in its Merits Report,
corresponding legal decisions.
34.
The State observed that, in the final written arguments, the representative had incorporated
facts and arguments that had not been presented in her motions and arguments brief. In this
regard, the Court recalls that, essentially, the final written arguments provide an opportunity to
systematize the legal and factual arguments presented at the opportune moment, and not a stage
24
Cf. Case of Nadege Dorzema et al. v. Dominican Republic. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of October 24,
2012. Series C No. 251, para. 19.
25
Cf. Case of Nadege Dorzema et al. v. Dominican Republic, supra, para. 20.
26
This has been the consistent criterion of the Court in relation to costs and expense. See, inter alia, Case of Nadege
Dorzema et al. v. Dominican Republic, supra, para. 24, and Case of Artavia Murillo et al. (In vitro fertilization) v. Costa Rica.
Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs Judgment of November 28, 2012. Series C No. 257, para. 49.
27
In particular, the following are inadmissible: the alleged violations of Article 11 of the Convention based on the
protection of the presumed victim’s reputation, the alleged violations of Articles 2 and 24 of the Convention based on the
presumed gender-based acts of violence, and the alleged violations of Articles 4(b), 4(c), 4(e), 7(a), 7(f) and 7(g) of the
Convention of Belém do Pará, as well as the representative’s request to consider the presumed acts of gender-based violence as
crimes against humanity.
12