-7-
4.
Requests of the Inter-American Commission. Based on the foregoing, the Inter-American
Commission asked the Court to conclude and declare the international responsibility of the
Mexican State for the violations contained in its Merits Report and, as measures of reparation, to
require the State to comply with the recommendations made in the said report (supra para. 2.c).
II
PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COURT
5.
Notification to the State and to the representatives. The representatives of the presumed
victims and the State were notified of the submission of the case on November 11 and 14, 2016,
respectively.
6.
Brief with motions, pleadings and evidence. On January 16, 2017, the representatives
presented their brief with motions, pleadings and evidence (hereinafter “motions and pleadings
brief”), pursuant to Articles 25 and 40 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure. The representatives
agreed substantially with the allegations of the Commission and asked the Court to declare that
the State was internationally responsible for the same articles of the American Convention alleged
by the Commission. In addition, they alleged the violation of the obligation to adopt domestic
legal provisions (Article 2 of the Convention) for different reasons. Lastly, they asked the Court to
require the State to adopt different measures of reparation and to reimburse specific costs and
expenses.
7.
Answering brief. On May 10, 2017, the State submitted to the Court its brief answering the
submission of the case by the Commission and with observations on the motions and pleadings
brief (hereinafter “answering brief”).5 In this brief, the State filed a preliminary objection,
acknowledged some of the alleged violations, although not all the respective facts that were
indicated by the representatives and the Commission, and responded to the requests for
reparations.
8.
Legal Assistance Fund. In an order of May 21, 2017, the President of the Court declared
admissible the request filed by the presumed victims, through their representatives, to access the
Legal Assistance Fund of the Court.6
9.
Observations on the preliminary objection and the acknowledgement of responsibility. On
July 27, 2017, the Commission and the representatives presented their observations on the
preliminary objection and the acknowledgement of responsibility made by the State.
10. Public hearing. On October 18, 2017, the President issued an order calling the State, the
representatives and the Inter-American Commission to a public hearing on the preliminary
objection and eventual merits, reparations and costs, to receive the final oral arguments of the
parties and the final oral observations of the Commission on those issues.7 Also, in this order, he
required that the statements of six presumed victims and eight expert witnesses be received by
affidavit. The affidavits were presented by the representatives on November 2, 2017. The
The State appointed Miguel Ruíz Cabañas Izquierdo, Under-Secretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights;
Alejandro Alday González, Legal Consultant; Erasmo Alonso Lara Cabrera, Director General for Human Rights and
Democracy, and Fernando Baeza Meléndez, Mexican Ambassador to Costa Rica, as its Agents in this case.
5
Cf. Case of Selvas Gómez et al. v. Mexico. Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund. Order of the President of the InterAmerican Court of Human Rights of May 21, 2017. Available at: http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/asuntos/selvas_fv_17.pdf
6
Cf. Case of Selvas Gómez et al. v. Mexico. Call to a hearing. Order of the President of the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights of October 18, 2017. Available at: http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/asuntos/selvasgomez_18_10_17.pdf.
7