ii. Pay the victims the salaries and labor and/or social benefits they did not receive from the time they were dismissed until the time their reincorporation takes effect, or else the alternative compensation referred to in the foregoing recommendation. iii. Adopt measures to prevent a recurrence of what happened, including measures to ensure that domestic rules and regulations and relevant practices are governed by clear criteria and provide guarantees with respect to the appointment, term and dismissal of judges, in accordance with the norms established in the American Convention.” d) Notification of the State. – The Merits Report was notified to the State on May 2, 2011. The State was granted a period of two months to report on its compliance with the recommendations. On July 15, 2011 the State of Ecuador presented a report which, in the Commission’s view, “did not reveal any substantial progress on implementation of the recommendations.” e) Submission to the Court. - On August 2, 2011, considering “the need to obtain justice for the [alleged] victims”, the Commission submitted the case to the Court. The Commission appointed Commissioner Luz Patricia Mejía, and then Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission, Santiago A. Cantón, as its delegates and appointed Assistant Executive Secretary Elizabeth Abi-Mershed and Silvia Serrano Guzmán, an attorney of the Executive Secretariat of the Commission, as its legal advisors. II PROCEEDING BEFORE THE COURT 3. Notification of the State and of the representatives – The Commission notified the State and the representatives of the alleged victims of the submission of the case on September 21, 2011. 4. Brief of pleadings, motions and evidence. – On November 18, 2011 Ramiro Ávila Santamaría and David Cordero Heredia (hereinafter “the representatives”) submitted to the Court their brief of pleadings, motions and evidence (hereinafter “brief of pleadings and motions”). They agreed substantially with the Commission’s arguments and asked the Court to declare the State’s international responsibility for the violation of the same articles cited by the Commission. In addition, they requested that the Court declare the violation of Articles 23 (Right to Participate in Government) and 24 (Right to Equal Protection before the Law) of the Convention, to the detriment of the 27 alleged victims. 5. Answer brief. – On February 14, 2012 the State submitted to the Court a brief containing a preliminary objection, an analysis of the recommendations issued by the InterAmerican Commission, its answer to the brief submitting the case and observations to the brief of pleadings and motions (hereinafter “answer brief”). In addition, the State appointed Mr. Erick Roberts Garcés as its Principal Agent, and Mr. Alonso Fonseca and Mrs. María Dolores Miño as Alternate Agents. 6. Observations to the preliminary objection– On May 8 and 11, 2012 the representatives of the alleged victims and the Commission, respectively, presented their observations to the preliminary objection filed by the State. 7. Public hearing and additional evidence –The President of the Court (hereinafter “the President”) in an Order of December 20, 2012, summoned the parties to a public hearing and specified the statements that would be received at the public hearing and those that 5