4 11. On May 22, 2003, after an extension granted, the representatives filed their brief with pleadings, motions and evidence (hereinafter “brief with pleadings and motions”), to which they attached documentary evidence, and they offered witnesses and expert witnesses. 12. On May 23, 2003 the State appointed Oscar Martínez Pérez as its Agent, and Mario Sandoval as Deputy Agent. It also appointed Ramón Fogel Pedroso as Judge ad hoc. On July 23, 2003, after an extension granted, the State submitted its brief with the reply to the application and observations on the brief with pleadings and motions (hereinafter “reply to the application”), to which it attached documentary evidence, and offered witnesses and expert witnesses. 13. On December 10, 2004 the Secretariat, under instructions by the President, asked the Inter-American Commission, the representatives, and Paraguay to send the final lists of witnesses and expert witnesses offered by each of them. 14. On January 31, 2005 the President issued an Order, in which he summoned the parties to a public hearing that would be held at the seat of the Court, beginning on March 4, 2005, to hear their final oral pleadings on the merits, reparations, and costs; the testimony of Esteban López, Tomás Galeano, Inocencia Gómez, Stephen William Kidd and Rodrigo Villagra Carron, offered by the Inter-American Commission and by the representatives; the expert opinion of Bartomeu Melia i Lliteres, offered by the Commission and by the representatives, and the expert testimony of Pablo Balmaceda, offered by the representatives. In this Order, the President also ordered submission as affidavits of the testimony of Albino Fernández, offered by the Commission and by the representatives; of the testimony of Oscar Centurión, Teresa Vargas and Pedro Martínez, offered by the State; of the expert opinions of Enrique Castillo, José Antonio Aylwin Oyarzún and José Alberto Braunstein, offered by the Commission and by the representatives, and of the expert opinions of Fulvia Esther Prieto, Bernardo Jaquet and César Escobar Cattebecke, offered by the State. In this Order, the President also informed the parties that they had until April 4, 2005 to submit their final written pleadings on the merits, reparations, and costs. 15. On February 12, 14 and 15, 2005 the Commission and the representatives filed the affidavits of statements by the witnesses and expert witnesses offered by them. On February 22, 2005 the State forwarded the affidavits of two witnesses and two expert witnesses, in response to said Order by the President (supra para. 14). 16. On February 25, 2005 the State reported that it had decided to “desist from offering Teresa Vargas and expert witness Esther Prieto, the former because she did not appear before the Head Notary Public [Escribano Mayor] of the Government within the term allotted, and the latter because for personal reasons she decided not to participate.” 17. On February 28, 2005 the representatives pointed out that the reason given by the State to waive the testimony by Teresa Vargas was “insufficient”, for which reason they asked the Inter-American Court to order the State to expand on the reasons for said waiver. The representatives said that they had no objections regarding the waiver by Paraguay of the expert opinion of Fulvia Esther Prieto. 18. On February 29, 2005 the State submitted a note in which it requested that Oscar Centurión be included as a witness at the public hearing summoned by the