Inter-American Court of Human Rights Case of the Saramaka People v. Suriname Judgment of November 28, 2007 (Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations, and Costs) In the Case of the Saramaka People, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter-American Court”, “the Court”, or “the Tribunal”), composed of the following judges*: Sergio García-Ramírez, President; Cecilia Medina-Quiroga, Vice-President; Manuel E. Ventura-Robles, Judge; Diego García-Sayán, Judge; Leonardo A. Franco, Judge; Margarette May Macaulay, Judge, and Rhadys Abreu-Blondet, Judge; also present, Pablo Saavedra-Alessandri, Registrar, and Emilia Segares-Rodríguez, Deputy Registrar; pursuant to Articles 62(3) and 63(1) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” or “the American Convention”) and Articles 29, 31, 37, 56 and 58 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure (hereinafter “the Rules of Procedure”), delivers the present Judgment. I INTRODUCTION OF THE CASE AND SUBJECT OF THE DISPUTE 1. On June 23, 2006, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 50 and 61 of the American Convention, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Commission” or “the Inter-American Commission”) submitted an application to the Court against the State of Suriname (hereinafter “the State” or “Suriname”). The application originated from petition No. 12.338 presented to the Secretariat of the Commission on * Ad hoc Judge Alwin Rene Baarh informed the Tribunal that, for reasons of force majeur, he could not be present during the deliberation of the present Judgment.