-5-
9.
Helpful evidence and information. - The parties submitted the information and helpful
evidence requested by the Judges in a public hearing, together with their final written arguments.
Additionally, on October 9 and November 30, 2018, the President of the Court requested that the
State submit helpful documentation. El Salvador submitted said information together with its final
written arguments on December 14, 2018.
10. Final written arguments and observations. - On October 26 and November 5, 2018,
respectively, the representatives and the State submitted their final written arguments, as well as
certain annexes, and the Commission presented its final written observations.
11. Observations to the helpful information and evidence. – On November 20, 2018, the
representatives presented their observations on the documentation presented by the counterparty
together with their final written arguments. On January 7 and 9, 2019, the Commission submitted
its observations to the information sent by the State on December 14, 2018.
12.
Deliberation of this case. - The Court began deliberating this Judgment on February 4, 2019.
III
JURISDICTION
13. The Court has jurisdiction to hear this case pursuant to Article 62(3) of the Convention,
because El Salvador has been a State Party to said Convention since June 23, 1978, and accepted
the contentious jurisdiction of the Court on June 6, 1995.
IV
EVIDENCE
A.
Admission of documentary evidence
14. The Court received various documents presented as evidence by the Commission, the
representatives, and the State, as well as those requested by the Court or its President as helpful
evidence, which, as in other cases, it admits in the understanding that they were presented in the
due procedural moment (article 57 of the Rules of Procedure)7 and its Admission was not disputed
or challenged.8
15. On May 22, 2018, the representatives submitted documents alleging that they gained access
to them “after the submission of the brief with pleadings, motion, and evidence.”9 On May 29,
and State Agent, and Gloria Evelyn Martínez Ramos, Director of International Human Rights Protection Systems of
the Salvadoran Foreign Ministry.
7
In accordance with article 57(2) of the Rules of Procedure, documentary evidence in general may be presented
together with the briefs, requests, and arguments or answers the case, as appropriate, and evidence submitted
outside of these procedural opportunities is not admissible except in the exceptions set out in said article 57(2) of the
Rules of Procedure (namely, force majeure, serious impediment) or except in the case of a supervening event,
meaning one that occurred after the aforementioned procedural moments. Cf. Case of the Barrios Family v. Venezuela.
Merits, Reparations, and Costs. Judgment of November 24, 2011. Series C No. 237, para. 17 and 18, and Case of
Amrhein et al. v. Costa Rica Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations, and Costs. Judgment of April 25, 2018.
Series C No. 354, para. 138.
8
Cf. Case of Velásquez-Rodríguez v. Honduras Merits. Judgment of July 29, 1988. Series C No.4, para. 18, and
Case of Amrhein et al. v. Costa Rica Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations, and Costs. Judgment of April 25,
2018. Series C No. 354, para. 137.
9
The documents provided by the representatives correspond to information requested from the Supreme
Electoral Tribunal on January 12 and May 17, 2018. Specifically, the representatives provided the following official
information from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal: (i) copy of the report presented by the Institutional Financial
Director of the TSE on the salary earned by the public official Mártir Arnaldo Marín during the years 1998 and 1999;
(ii) referral letter from the Administrative Director, of the reports provided by the Deputy Director of Human