witnesses and expert witnesses; (ii) the expenses of the notary arising from certifying the statements of presumed victims, witnesses and expert witnesses that the Court finds pertinent to receive by affidavit, and (iii) the expenses and travel arising from the preparation of the expert appraisals, “in those cases in which the experts need to travel to Venezuela or within the country in order to prepare them.” They underlined that, at this stage of the proceedings, they were not in a position to determine whether all the witnesses and expert witnesses proposed in their pleadings and motions brief would be admitted by the Court, and did not know where the Court would decide to convene the eventual hearing of the case, so that “the travel expenses could vary considerably.” Accordingly, they asked the Court, if it accepted their request, to do so taking into account the testimonies and expert opinions that it decided to admit in the order issued based on Article 50 of its Rules of Procedure 7 and, if it accepted it in part, that the Court indicate the number of testimonies and expert opinions that would be covered by the Fund. 8. In addition, the representatives submitted an estimate of the expenses to be covered by the Fund, both for the appearance of the deponents at an eventual public hearing, and for producing sworn statements. In the case of the former, the representatives estimated that the total amount for the eventual statements of eight witnesses and four expert witnesses would be approximately US$ 16,956.00 (sixteen thousand nine hundred and fiftysix United States dollars), at US$ 1,413.00 (one thousand four hundred and thirteen United States dollars) for each deponent, including travel expenses, accommodation and per diem, if the hearing were held at the seat of the Court. 9. First, the President confirms that the request to use the Court’s Assistance Fund was made at the appropriate occasion in the pleadings and motions brief (supra having seen paragraph 2), on behalf of the next of kin of Néstor José Uzcátegui. The President recognizes that this request should be understood to have been made on behalf of the presumed victims, exclusively, because it is they who request the use of the Fund. To this end, the President considers sufficient the capital assets statement of Luis Uzcátegui prepared by a certified public accountant, as evidence of his lack of financial resources to cover the costs of the litigation of this case before the Court. The President also observes that the said organizations represent 11 members of Néstor José Uzcátegui’s family. 10. Furthermore, the President observes that the presumed victims have requested assistance from the said Fund to cover expenses related to the production of evidence before the Court, specifically for the presentation of statements by presumed victims, witnesses and expert witnesses, either at a hearing or by means of an affidavit. He also takes note of the representatives’ observation that they were unable to determine precisely the expenditure that this would require during this stage of the proceedings before the Court, even though they have presented an estimate. 11. The President recalls that the Court’s Assistance Fund is made up of voluntary contributions from cooperating sources (supra second considering paragraph), and that these limited resources are insufficient to cover all the expenses relating to the appearance and eventual presentation of evidence before the Court by the presumed victims. Consequently, in each specific case, the President must assess the request for assistance in relation to the available funds, taking into account the needs for assistance that could arise in other cases before the Court, in order to ensure the proper administration and fair distribution of the Fund’s limited resource. 7 2009. Rules of Procedure of the Court approved at its eighty-fifth regular session held from November 16 to 28, 3