10. Access to the Legal Assistance Fund. In an Order of March 1, 2013, the President of the Court (hereinafter also “the President”) declared admissible the request presented by the presumed victims, through their representatives, to access the Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund. 13 11. Preliminary objections. In briefs received on July 5, 2013, the representatives and the Commission presented their observations on the preliminary objections filed by the State and asked the Court to reject them. In addition, they indicated that the State’s arguments were not “preliminary issues.” 12. Public hearing. In an Order of September 6, 2013, 14 the President summoned the parties to a public hearing and required, among other matters, that several statements be submitted by affidavit 15 (infra para. 111). The public hearing took place on October 8 and 9, 2013, during the Court’s forty-eighth special session, held in Mexico City, Mexico 16 (hereinafter “the public hearing”). During this hearing, the Court received the statements of one presumed victim and one expert witness offered by the Commission, two expert witnesses offered by the representatives, and two expert witnesses offered by the State, as well as the final oral observations and arguments of the Inter-American Commission, the representatives, and the State, respectively. Also, during this hearing, the Court required the parties to submit specific documentation and clarifications on matters relating to the application of certain laws and regulations, legal deportation procedures, and details of the alleged violations. Furthermore, the State showed a video with regard to one presumed victim. 13. Supervening facts. The parties cited the following: (a) on October 2, 2013, the representatives advised that the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic had handed down judgment TC/0168/13 on September 23, 2013 (hereinafter also “judgment TC/0168/13”), in which “it ruled on the application of article 11 of the Dominican Constitution, applicable to this case.” In view of the fact that this occurred after the presentation of the motions and arguments brief, and that “it is closely related to the facts of this case,” they asked that “the judgment in question be admitted as supervening evidence”; (b) on May 22, 2014, the representatives advised that Victoria Jean had died on April 20, 2014, and (c) on June 9, 2014, the State advised that it had issued Decree 13 Cf. Order of the President of the Court of March 1, 2013. Case of Tide Méndez et al. v. Dominican Republic. Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund. Available at: http://joomla.corteidh.or.cr:8080/joomla/es/jurisprudencia-ocavanzado/38-jurisprudencia/1983-resolucion-del-presidente-de-la-corte-interamericana-de-derechos-humanoscaso-tide-mendez-y-otros-vs-republica-dominicana-fondo-de-asistencia-legal-de-victimas-de-1-de-marzo-de2013 14 Cf. Order of the President of the Court of September 6, 2013. Available at: http://joomla. corteidh.or.cr:8080/joomla/component/content/article/38-Jurisprudencia/2081-corte-idh-caso-tide-mendez-yotros-vs-republica-dominicana-resolucion-del-presidente-de-la-corte-interamericana-de-derechos-humanos-de06-de-septiembre-de-2013. By an Order of the President of the Court of September 11, 2013, it was decided to amend the sixty-fifth considerandum and twelfth operative paragraph of the Order of the President of the Court of September 6, 2013. Available at: http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/asuntos/mendez_fv_ 13_2.pdf 15 Cf. Order of the President of the Court of September 6, 2013. Following the request of the State, the representatives and the Commission, the time limit for the parties and the Commission to present the affidavits required in the said order, which had originally been set at September 25, 2013, was extended until October 1, 2013. 16 There appeared at this hearing: (a) for the Inter-American Commission: Felipe González, Commissioner, Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, Deputy Executive Secretary, Silvia Serrano Guzmán and Jorge Humberto Meza, advisers; (b) for the representatives of the presumed victims: Jenny Morón, Cristina Francisco Luis and Leonardo Rosario Pimentel (MUDHA); Francisco Quintana, Gisela de León and Carlos Zazueta (CEJIL); Lisane André (GARR), and Paola García Rey (Columbia University), and (c) for the State: Santo Miguel Román, Deputy Director, General Directorate of Immigration, attached to the Ministry of the Interior and Police, Deputy Agent; Fernando Pérez Memén, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Dominican Republic to the United Mexican States; José Casado-Liberato, Lawyer-Human Rights Analyst for OAS Affairs, Adviser, and Paola Torres de la Cruz, Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in Mexico. 9