addition, the Court requested ex officio the affidavits of two alleged victims. The representative presented these affidavits on June 14, 2021. 10. Public hearing. Due to the exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the hearing was held via videoconference, in accordance with the Rules of the Court, on June 22 and 23, 2021, during the Court’s 142nd regular session. At the hearing, the Court received the statements of two alleged victims and an expert witness offered, respectively, by the representative and the Commission. The judges of the Court also requested certain information and explanations from the parties and the Commission. 11. Amicus Curiae. The Court received an amicus curiae brief submitted by the International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network (ILAW) 8. 12. Final written arguments and observations. On July 23, 2021, the representative and the State presented their final written arguments, as well as certain annexes. The Commission forwarded its final written observations on that same date. 13. Observations on the annexes to the final arguments. On August 13, 2021, the State submitted its observations on the annexes provided by the representative. On August 16, 2021, the Commission indicated that it had no observations to make to the annexes submitted together with the final arguments of the parties. The representative did not submit observations on the annexes presented by the State. 14. Deliberation of the instant case. The Court deliberated this judgment in a virtual session held on November 16 and 17, 2021. 9 III JURISDICTION 15. The Court is competent to hear the instant case, pursuant to Article 62(3) of the Convention, given that Guatemala has been a State Party to the American Convention since May 25, 1978, and recognized the contentious jurisdiction of this Court on March 9, 1987. IV PRELIMINARY OBJECTIONS 16. The State filed two preliminary objections, which will be analyzed in the following order: A) alleged configuration of the international “fourth instance” and B) alleged failure to exhaust domestic remedies. A. Alleged configuration of the international “fourth instance” A.1. Arguments of the parties and of the Commission The brief was signed by Jeffrey Vogt and contains an analysis of the right to strike, its conceptual definition, and interdependence with other human rights. It analyzes Guatemala’s labor legislation and establishes conclusions. 8 9 Owing to the exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this judgment was deliberated and adopted during the Court’s 145th regular session, which took place virtually using technological means in accordance with the Rules of Procedure. See press release No. 79/2021 of October 28, 2021, available at: https://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/comunicados/cp_79_2021.pdf. 6