I INTRODUCTION OF THE CASE AND CAUSE OF ACTION 1. The case submitted to the Court. On June 14, 2020, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter also “the Inter-American Commission” or “the Commission”) submitted to the jurisdiction of the Court the case of “Gonzalo Orlando Cortez Espinoza” against the Republic of Ecuador (hereinafter “the State of Ecuador,” “the State,” or “Ecuador”). As the Commission indicated, the case concerns the alleged international responsibility of the State for the unlawful and arbitrary detention of Gonzalo Orlando Cortez Espinoza three times in 1997 and 2000, for harm to his physical integrity, and for the infringement of due process in criminal proceedings against him for “crimes against property.” The Commission concluded in its Merits Report that the State was responsible for violating the rights to personal integrity, personal liberty, judicial guarantees, and private property, established in Articles 5(1), 5(2), 7(1), 7(2), 7(3), 7(4), 7(5), 7(6), 8(1), 8(2), 8(2)(b), 8(2)(c), 8(2)(d), and 21 of the American Convention, in conjunction with the obligations established in Articles 1(1) and 2, to the detriment of Gonzalo Cortez Espinoza. 2. Procedure before the Commission. The procedure before the Commission was as follows: a) Petition. On March 29, 2000, the Commission received the initial petition, presented by the Human Rights Clinic of the School of Law of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. b) Reports on admissibility and merits. On November 1, 2011, the Commission approved Admissibility Report No. 148/11, in which it concluded that the petition was admissible, and on February 12, 2019, it approved Merits Report No. 13/19 (hereinafter “Merits Report” or “Report No. 13/19”), in which it drew certain conclusions and made recommendations to the State. c) Notification to the State. The Commission notified the State of Report No. 13/19 on March 14, 2019. 3. Submission to the Court. On June 14, 2020, after granting the State four extensions to comply with the recommendations, the Commission submitted to the Court all of the facts and human rights violations described in the Merits Report, on account of the need for justice and reparation for Mr. Cortez Espinoza. 4. The Commission’s requests. Based on the above, the Commission asked this Court to declare the State’s international responsibility for the violations contained in the Merits Report (supra para. 1) and to order the State to implement the measures of reparation included therein (infra chapter IX). This Court notes with concern that over 20 years passed between the presentation of the initial petition to the Commission and the submission of the case to the Court. II PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COURT 5. Notification to the State and to the representatives. 1 On August 4, 2020, the Court notified the alleged victims’ representatives (hereinafter “the representatives”) and the State of the submission of the case. 1 The alleged victims are represented by the Human Rights Clinic of the School of Law of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (hereinafter “CDH-PUCE” or “the organization”). 4