regard, he takes note of the receipts submitted for expenses related to the cognitive
assessment of Sebastián Furlan and the receipt for the pen drive containing the brief
submitting the case and its attachments. The President also notes that an invoice is pending
for the sending by courier of some attachments to the brief of pleadings and motions.
16.
Furthermore, the President confirms that the inter-American defenders have
requested assistance from the Fund to cover expenses related to the production of evidence
before the Court, specifically for the presentation of testimonies, either at a hearing or
through affidavits (supra Considering paragraph 11), and to the preparation of expert
reports.
17.
The President recalls that the Court’s Legal Assistance Fund is comprised of voluntary
contributions from donor sources (supra Considering paragraph 2), and that these limited
resources are insufficient to cover all the expenses related to a possible appearance and
presentation of evidence before the Court by the alleged victims. Therefore, in each specific
case, the Presidency must consider a request for financial assistance on the basis of the
resources available and bearing in mind the need for assistance that might arise in other
cases before the Court, in order to ensure the correct administration and fair distribution of
the Fund’s limited resources.
18.
The President notes that, at the present stage of the proceedings, it has not been
determined which of the testimonies offered by the inter-American defenders shall be
admitted by the Court, or the means by which these shall be obtained. In accordance with
Article 50.1 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure, that decision is taken by the Court or by its
President, once the parties have submitted the definitive lists of proposed declarants and
the right to defense has been guaranteed, under the terms of Articles 45 to 49 of the
Court’s Rules of Procedure. Likewise, it is possible that various scenarios could arise that
could increase the item of expenses incurred by the inter-American defenders.
19.
Based on the foregoing considerations, the President considers valid the request
submitted by the alleged victims to have recourse to the Court’s Legal Assistance Fund, and
considers valid the request by the inter-American defenders to have access to that same
Fund, on the understanding that the funds would be used to cover reasonable and
necessary expenses incurred by the defenders in order to process the case before this
Court. Likewise, the President considers it appropriate to defer a decision on the specific
amount, recipients and purpose of the financial assistance to be provided to the alleged
victims, until such time as the Presidency, or the Court, rules on the validity and relevance
of the evidence offered by experts and witnesses and on the opening of the oral
proceedings, in accordance with Article 50.1 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure, in order to
have certainty regarding which of the testimonies shall be admitted by the Court, and the
means by which these shall be obtained. (supra Considering paragraph 18).
THEREFORE:
THE PRESIDENT OF THE INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS,
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