5 IV PROVISIONAL MEASURES 2 13) On July 10, 1998, prior to the submission of the application, the Commission requested that the Court expand the provisional measures that had been ordered by the President in the matter of James et al. on May 27, 1998, and ratified by the Court on June 14 of the same year, in order to include Mr. Hilaire in such provisional measures. The Commission considered that the circumstances of Mr. Hilaire were similar to those of the other inmates to whom the existing Order for provisional measures in Trinidad and Tobago applied, and that because Mr. Hilaire’s execution was imminent, he was particularly vulnerable to irreparable harm. 14) On July 13, 1998, the President of the Court (hereinafter “the President”) ordered the State, inter alia, to take all measures necessary to preserve Mr. Hilaire’s life so that the Court could examine the pertinence of the Commission’s request for extension of the provisional measures. On August 29, 1998, the plenary of the Court ratified the President’s Order of July 13, 1998 in relation to Mr. Hilaire, among others 3. 15) As of this date, the State has presented the relevant reports with respect to the situation of Mr. Hilaire and the Commission has delivered its observations on the State’s reports. V PROCEEDING BEFORE THE COURT 16) On May 25, 1999, the Inter-American Commission filed its application in the following terms: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights respectfully petitions the Honorable Inter-American Court of Human Rights to declare violations of the Convention by the State, establish reparations for those violations, and determine costs and expenses to be paid to the representatives of the victims. A. Declarations of violations The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights respectfully petitions the Honorable Inter-American Court of Human Rights to: Find that the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is responsible for violating Mr. Hilaire’s right: (I) not to be arbitrarily deprived of his life in violation of Article 4(1) of the American Convention. 2 On May 22, 1998, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights received from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights a request for provisional measures in the James et al. matter, related to five cases before the Commission which involved five death row inmates in Trinidad and Tobago. On June 14, 1998, during its XL Regular Period of Sessions, the Court ordered the adoption of the requested measures. 3 In the said Order the Court amplified the Provisional Measures in the matter of James et al in favor of Darrin Roger Thomas, Haniff Hilaire and Denny Baptiste. Messrs. Thomas and Baptiste are not included in the instant application.