7 29. On December 15, 1998, the Secretariat asked the Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs of the OAS, Mr. Enrique Lagos, to make any arrangements possible within his sphere of competence to facilitate access by the Court to the information requested from the Secretary General of the OAS on October 29, 1998. 30. On January 7, 1999, in response to the note sent by the Secretariat to the Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs of the OAS on December 15, 1998, Mr. JeanMichel Arrighi, Director of the International Law Department of the OAS, sent a letter to the Secretariat informing that no such notification had been received or recorded by that Department concerning the suspension of guarantees of the Convention by the State. 31. On January 8, 1999, the State presented its response brief. 32. On January 19, 1999, Panama appointed Mr. Jorge Federico Lee as alternate Agent. 33. On January 19, 1999, Mr. Rolando Adolfo Reyna-Rodríguez, in his capacity as Judge ad hoc in the case, informed the Court that “he was indeed somewhat involved in the JORGE A. MARTÍNEZ vs. INSTITUTO DE RECURSOS HIDRÁULICOS Y ELECTRIFICACIÓN case, which he rejected for lack of jurisdiction, without hearing the case.” He further informed that “he would undertake a position relative to International Maritime Affairs of the Republic of Panama.” Lastly, he requested the Court to “determine whether the facts previously pointed out constituted grounds for impediment.” 34. On January 19, 1999, pursuant to instructions by the Tribunal, the Secretariat requested Mr. Rolando Adolfo Reyna-Rodríguez to inform on “the characteristics and objective of the proceedings identified as Jorge A. Martínez vs. Instituto de Recursos Hidráulicos y Electrificación, where he had some involvement as President of the N° 4 Conciliation and Decision Board,” and on the “position, within the structure of the State of Panama, of the ‘International Maritime Affairs office or section.’” 35. On January 22, 1999, Mr. Rolando Adolfo Reyna-Rodríguez, in response to the request made on the 19th of the same month and year, informed the Secretariat that the proceedings in which he participated as President of the N° 4 Conciliation and Decision Board, were based on a labour action brought by several workers dismissed under Law 25, which he rejected for lack of jurisdiction. He further informed that the “maritime authority in Panama is an autonomous institution devoted to all matters relative to merchant vessels.” 36. On that same day, the Court issued an Order whereby it decided: 1. To declare that Mr. Rolando Adolfo Reyna-Rodríguez may not undertake the position of Judge ad hoc in the instant case. 37. 2. To continue hearing it as currently constituted. 3. To notify this decision to Mr. Rolando Adolfo Reyna-Rodríguez. On January 26, 1999, the Ombudsman of Panama, Mr. Italo Isaac AntinoriBolaños, presented a brief in his capacity as amicus curiae.