10.
On November 28, 2011 the President of the Court (hereinafter “the President”)
issued an Order declaring admissible the request submitted by the alleged victims to have
access to the Legal Assistance Fund and approved the financial assistance necessary for the
presentation of a maximum of four statements.
11.
On January 31, 2012 the President issued an Order in which he convened a public
hearing to hear the statements of an alleged victim and an expert witness offered by the
representatives, and a witness and an expert witness offered by the State, as well as the
oral arguments of the parties and the observations of the Commission; ordered statements
to be taken from three alleged victims, three witnesses and six expert witnesses rendered
before a notary public (affidavit); made determinations regarding the Victims’ Legal
Assistance Fund; and set a date for the presentation of the final written arguments and final
written observations.5 On February 27, 2012 the representatives submitted the statements
ordered via affidavit, without these being authenticated or notarized.
12.
On March 2, 2012, the public hearing was held, during the 94th Regular Period of
Sessions of the Court6
13.
On April 3, 2012 the Commission filed its final written observations, the
representatives filed their final written arguments, together with the attachments, and the
State submitted its final written arguments to the Court. On April 10, 2012 the Court
received documents attached to the final written arguments of Venezuela.
14.
On April 30, 2012, the Secretariat, following the instructions of the President,
granted the Commission and the parties a period of time to present any observations
deemed pertinent to the documents forwarded by the representatives and the State along
with their final written arguments. On May 9, 2012 the Commission reported that it had no
observations to make. On May 18, 2012 the State and the representatives submitted their
observations.
15.
On May 25, 2012 the Secretariat, following the instructions of the President, notified
the State of the expenses incurred in application of the Legal Assistance Fund in this case7,
granting a non-extendable period until June 26, 2012 to file any observations deemed
pertinent. However, these were not submitted to the Court.
16.
On July 5, 2012 the representatives once again presented, with the authenticated
signature of the deponents and the seal of the Consulate of Costa Rica, the statements
ordered in the first operative paragraph of the President’s Order of January 31, 2012, which
had already been submitted on February 27, 2012 (supra para. 11). On July 6, 2012 the
Secretariat informed the representatives that said documents would be brought to the
attention of the President for the appropriate action.
5
Cf. Case of Castillo González et al. v. Venezuela. Order of the President of the Court of January 31, 2012.
Available at: http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/asuntos/castillo_31_01_121.pdf
6
The following individuals appeared at the hearing: a) for the Inter-American Commission: Silvia Serrano
Guzmán and Tatiana Gos, Advisers; b) for the representatives : Viviana Krsticevic, Anette Martínez of CEJIL, and
Carlos Ayala Corao, José Gregorio Guarenas, and Alfredo Vázquez Loureda for the Vicariate and, c) for the State:
Germán Saltrón Negrettri, Agent, Alejandro Méndez Mijares, an expert on criminal procedural matters and the
Seventy-sixth National Prosecutor of the Office of the Attorney General, and María Alejandra Díaz, lawyer.
7
Article 5 of the Rules of the Court on the Operation of the Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund.
5