Regarding the reimbursement of costs and expenses, the Court must make a prudent
assessment of their scope, which includes the expenses incurred before the authorities of the
domestic jurisdiction, and also those arising during the proceedings before the inter-American
system, taking into account the circumstances of the specific case and the nature of the
international jurisdiction for the protection of human rights. This assessment may be made
based on the principle of equity and taking into account the expenses indicated by the parties,
provided their quantum is reasonable.153
115. The Court notes that the Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos provided
expense vouchers related to its representation in this case demonstrating that it had incurred
expenditure in relation to this case of approximately US$$4,919.75 (four thousand nine
hundred and nineteen United States dollars and seventy-five cents), owing to the salary of a
lawyer from November 2017 to March 2018.154 In addition, it is reasonable to presume that
the representatives have incurred expenses from the moment the petition was lodged before
the Commission, and the Court therefore finds it pertinent to reimburse reasonable expenses
related to the litigation, which it establishes, in equity, at the sum of US$11,000.00 (eleven
thousand United States dollars) for the Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos.
This sum must be delivered directly to that organization. At the stage of monitoring compliance
with the judgment, the Court may establish that the State reimburse the victims or their
representatives any reasonable expenses they incur at that procedural stage.155
G.
Method of complying with the payments ordered
116. The State shall pay the compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage
established in this judgment directly to the persons indicated herein, within one year of
notification of this judgment.
117. Should either of the beneficiaries be deceased or die before they receive the respective
amount, this shall be delivered directly to their heirs pursuant to the applicable domestic law.
118. The State shall comply with its monetary obligations by payment in United States dollars
or the equivalent in national currency, using the exchange rate in force on the New York Stock
Exchange (United States of America), the day before the payment to make the respective
calculation.
119. If, for reasons that can be attributed to the beneficiaries of the compensation or their
heirs, it were not possible to pay the sums established within the indicated timeframe, the
State shall deposit the said amounts in their favor in a deposit account or certificate in a
solvent Guatemalan financial institution in United States dollars and in the most favorable
financial conditions permitted by banking law and practice. If the corresponding compensation
is not claimed within ten years, the amounts shall be returned to the State with the interest
accrued.
120. The sums allocated in this judgment as compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary
damage shall be delivered to the persons indicated in full, as established in this judgment,
without any deductions derived from possible charges or taxes.
Cf. Case of Garrido and Baigorria v. Argentina. Reparations and costs. Judgment of August 27, 1998. Series C
No. 39, para. 82, and Case of Ruiz Fuentes et al. v. Guatemala. Preliminary objection, merits, reparations and costs.
Judgment of October 10, 2019. Series C No. 384, para. 251.
153
The vouchers provided by the representatives add up to 37,885.2 Guatemalan quetzals Cf. Vouchers for salary
paid to the CALDH legal adviser (evidence file, folios 428 to 430).
154
Cf. Case of Ibsen Cárdenas and Ibsen Peña v. Bolivia. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of September 1,
2010. Series C No. 217, para. 29, and Case of Ruiz Fuentes et al. v. Guatemala. Preliminary objection, merits,
reparations and costs. Judgment of October 10, 2019. Series C No. 384, para. 252.
155
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