4. Submission to the Court. On August 22, 2018, the Commission submitted this case to the Court owing to “the need to obtain justice for the victims.”2 5. Requests of the Commission. Based on the foregoing, the Inter-American Commission asked the Court to find and declare the international responsibility of the State for the violations contained in its Merits Report and to require the State, as measures of reparation, to execute the measures included in the said report. II PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COURT 6. Notification to the State and to the representatives. The submission of the case was notified to the State and to the representatives of the presumed victims on October 15, 2018. 7. Brief with pleadings, motions and evidence. On December 11, 2018, the National Human Rights Coordinator, the Centro de Promoción y Defensa de los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos (PROMSEX) and Redress Trust (hereinafter “the representatives”) submitted their brief with pleadings, motions and evidence (hereinafter “pleadings and motions brief”), pursuant to Articles 25 and 40 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure. The representatives agreed with the allegations made by the Commission and added that the State was also responsible for the violation of the obligation to adopt domestic legal provisions in light of Article 2 of the American Convention. In addition, it asked that the Court order the State to adopt various measures of reparation and to reimburse certain costs and expenses. 8. Answering brief. On April 5, 2019, the State submitted to the Court its brief with preliminary objections and in answer to the submission of the case by the Commission, together with its observations on the pleadings and motions brief (hereinafter “answering brief”). In this brief, the State filed three preliminary objections and contested the alleged violations and the requests for measures of reparation presented by the Commission and the representatives. 9. Observations on the preliminary objections. On May 24, 2019, the representatives and the Commission presented their observations on the preliminary objections. 10. Public hearing. On July 10, 2019, the President of the Court at the time issued an order in which he called the parties and of the Commission to a public hearing on the preliminary objections and eventual merits, reparations and costs.3 Also, in this order, he called on the presumed victim, a witness and an expert witness proposed by the Commission to testify during the public hearing, and required two witnesses and six expert witnesses to submit their statements by affidavit and these were forwarded on August 12, 2019. On July 18, 2019, the representatives asked the Court to reconsider this decision because, for reasons beyond her control, the presumed victim would be unable to attend the hearing, and they requested that the Court call a witness. In an order of the Court of August 26, 2019, it was decided to admit the representatives’ request.4 The public hearing took place on August 27, 2019, during the The Commission appointed Commissioner Joel Hernández and Executive Secretary Paulo Abrão as its delegates, and Silvia Serrano Guzmán, lawyer of the Commission’s Executive Secretariat acted as Legal Adviser. 2 Cf. Case of Rojas Marín et al. v. Peru. Call to a hearing. Order of the President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of July 10,2019. Available at: http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/asuntos/rojas_marin_10_07_19.pdf 3 Cf. Case of Rojas Marín et al. v. Peru. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of August 26, 2019. Available at: http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/asuntos/rojas_26_08_19.pdf 4 5