e) Notification to the State. The Merits Report was notified to the State on August 30, 2017. The Guatemalan State failed to present a response within the time frame indicated by the Commission. 3. Submission to the Court. On November 30, 2017, the Commission submitted to the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court all the facts and human rights violations described in the Merits Report “owing to the need to obtain justice and reparation.”6 4. The Inter-American Commission’s requests. Based on the foregoing, the Commission asked the Court to declare the international responsibility of the State for the violations indicated in its Merits Report. The Commission also asked the Court to order the State to adopt measures of reparation and these are described and analyzed in Chapter IX of this judgment. II PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COURT 5. Notification to the representatives and to the State. The Court notified the Commission’s submission of the case to the presumed victims’ representatives7 (hereinafter “the representatives”) and to the State on February 12, 2018. 6. Brief with pleadings, motions and evidence. On April 13, 2018, the representatives submitted to the Court their brief with pleadings, motions and evidence (hereinafter “the pleadings and motions brief”). The representatives were in substantial agreement with the allegations made by the Commission and asked the Court to declare the international responsibility of the State for the violation of the same articles that the Commission alleged had been violated and, also, Article 7(1), 7(2), 7(3), 7(4) and 7(5), in relation to Article 1(1) of the American Convention, to the detriment of Hugo Humberto Ruiz Fuentes. In addition, through their representatives, the alleged victims requested access to the Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund of the Inter-American Court (hereinafter “the Court’s Legal Assistance Fund” or “the Fund”). Lastly, the representatives asked the Court to order the State to adopt diverse measures of reparation and to reimburse certain costs and expenses. 7. Answering brief. On August 14, 2018, the State submitted to the Court its brief answering the Inter-American Commission’s submission of the case and its Merits Report and the representatives’ brief with pleadings, motions and evidence (hereinafter “the answering brief”). In this brief, the State filed a preliminary objection of res judicata and contested the alleged violations and the requests for measures of reparation. 8. Observations on the preliminary objection. On October 4, 2018, the Commission presented its observations on the preliminary objection filed by the State. On October 18, 2018, the representatives submitted their respective observations. 9. Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund. In a communication of the Court’s Secretariat of October 12, 2018, the alleged victims’ request, through their representatives, to access the Court’s Legal Assistance Fund was declared admissible. instrument, to the detriment of Hugo Humberto Ruiz Fuentes.” The Commission also concluded that the State had violated “the right to personal integrity, judicial guarantees and judicial protection established in Articles 5(1), 8(1) and 25(1) of the American Convention in relation to the obligations established in Article 1(1) of this instrument, to the detriment of the family members of Hugo Humberto Ruiz Fuentes.” Lastly, the Commission concluded that the State had violated “Articles 1, 6 and 8 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture.” 6 The Commission appointed Commissioner Luis Ernesto Vargas Silva and Executive Secretary Paulo Abrão as its delegates before the Court. In addition, it appointed Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, Deputy Executive Secretary at the time, and also Silvia Serrano Guzmán, Executive Secretariat lawyer, as legal advisers. 7 The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) and the Instituto de Estudios Comparados en Ciencias Penales de Guatemala (ICCPG) represented the alleged victims in this case. 5