2 application, the Commission alleged “denial of justice and other acts of intimidation and discrimination affecting the rights to humane treatment, freedom of conscience and religion, and property of the survivors, and the next of kin of the victims of the massacre of 268 individuals […], mostly members of the Maya indigenous people of the village of Plan de Sánchez, Municipality of Rabinal, Department of Baja Verapaz, perpetrated by members of the Guatemalan Army and civilian collaborators, under the guidance of the Army, on Sunday, July 18, 1982. 3. The Commission also requested the Court to order specific pecuniary and non-pecuniary reparations and payment of the costs and expenses arising from processing the case at the national level, and at the international level before the organs of the inter-American system for the protection of human rights. II COMPETENCE 4. Guatemala has been a State Party to the American Convention since May 25, 1978, and accepted the contentious jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court on March 9, 1987. Consequently, the Court is competent to hear this case, in the terms of Articles 62 and 63(1) of the Convention. III PROCEEDING BEFORE THE COMMISSION 5. On October 25, 1996, the Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos [Center for Legal Action on Human Rights] (hereinafter “CALDH”, “the victims’ representatives” or “the representatives”) submitted a petition to the Inter-American Commission. On July 1, 1997, the Commission opened case No. 11,763 and forwarded the pertinent parts of the petition to the State. 6. On March 11, 1999, during its one hundred and second regular session, the Inter-American Commission adopted Report No. 31/99 on the admissibility of the case. 7. On February 28, 2002, during its one hundred and fourteenth regular session, having examined the positions of the parties and considering that the friendly settlement stage had terminated, the Commission, in accordance with the provisions of Article 50 of the Convention, adopted Report on Merits No. 25/02 in which it made a series of recommendations to the State. IV PROCEEDING BEFORE THE COURT 8. On July 31, 2002, the Inter-American Commission filed the application before the Court. On August 22, 2002, after the President of the Court (hereinafter “the President”) had made a preliminary review of the application, the Secretariat of the Court (hereinafter “the Secretariat”) notified it to the State, informing the latter of the time for answering it and appointing its representatives for the proceedings. The same day, on the instructions of the President, the Secretariat informed the State of its right to appoint a judge ad hoc to take part in the consideration of the case. Also, on August 22, 2002, in accordance with Article 35(1)(e) of the Rules of Procedure, the application was notified to CALDH, advising the Center that it had 30 days to