4 III PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COURT 8. The application by the Commission was notified to the State6 and to the representatives on August 17, 2006. During the proceedings before this Tribunal, besides the main briefs forwarded by the parties (supra paras. 1, 5 and 6), the President of the Court7 (hereinafter “the President”) ordered the reception of one witness testimony rendered by affidavits as well as an expert witness declaration proposed by the Commission and the representatives, on which the parties were afforded the opportunity to file their observations. Furthermore, considering the specific circumstances of the case, the President summoned the Inter-American Commission, the representatives and the State to a public hearing in order to receive a deposition by one of the alleged victims and a report by an expert witness, as well as the closing arguments by the parties on the merits and possibly on reparations and costs. Such public hearing was held on May 16, 2007 during the XXX Extraordinary Period of Sessions of the Court, held in Guatemala City, Guatemala;8 at the hearing, the State presented a partial acknowledgment of its responsibility (infra para. 10). On June 6, 2007 the Commission and the State each filed their final written arguments on the merits, reparations, and costs. On June 14 and 26, 2007, the representatives filed a brief with their closing arguments and the appendixes thereto. On August 3, 2007 the Secretariat, following instructions of the President, required the Commission, the representatives and the State, pursuant to Article 45(2) of the Rules of Procedure, to forward certain rules and regulations, as well as certain documents, for the purpose of their being considered as evidence to facilitate adjudication of the case. On August 16 and September 12 and 13, 2007 the State forwarded part of the evidence to facilitate adjudication of the case and on August 20, 2007 the Commission produced the evidence requested. On August 18 and 20, 2007 the representatives forwarded part of the aforementioned evidence. On September 20, 2007 the representatives were requested, following instructions of the President, to forward the documents evidencing the disbursements they allege the victims would have effected for costs and expenses, and such documents were forwarded on September 27 and October 18, 2007. 9. Through the order of March 15, 2007, the President asked the Inter-American Commission, the representatives and the State to submit their brief of final arguments on June 6, 2007, a non-extendable deadline. Both the Commission and the State submitted said briefs of final arguments on June 6, 2007. However, the representatives submitted their brief of final arguments and the appendixes thereto 6 When the application was served upon it, the State was informed of its right to appoint an ad hoc judge to participate in determining the case. The State appointed an ad hoc Judge on October 25, 2006, after the term within which it had to do so had expired. On December 6, 2006 the Secretariat, following instructions of the Court, informed the State that the Tribunal had decided to reject such appointment, because it had been presented out of term. 7 Order of the President of the Court, of March 15, 2007. 8 At such public hearing, the following persons appeared: a) for the Inter-American Commission: Evelio Fernández-Arévalos, Commissioner; Lilly Ching-Soto and Mario López-Garelli, Counsels; b) for the representatives: Farith Simon-Campaña and Alejandro Ponce-Villacís, from the Legal Clinics of the Law School of the San Francisco de Quito University, in Ecuador, and Paola Romero-Dueñas, Andrea CarreraFlores, Rosa Baltazar-Yucailla and Mauricio Alarcón-Salvador, Assistants; and for the State: José Xavier Garaicoa-Ortiz, Attorney General of the State, Agent; Salim Saidán, Alternate Agent, and Gabriela Galeas, Counsel.