2. In 2008, the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (hereinafter the “OAS”) created the Legal Assistance Fund of the Inter-American Human Rights System (hereinafter “the Inter-American System’s Assistance Fund) and commissioned the OAS Permanent Council to draft the Fund’s rules of procedure. 2 The Assistance Fund was created “to facilitate access to the inter-American human rights system by persons who currently lack the resources needed to bring their cases before the system.” 3 According to the Rules of Procedure adopted by the Permanent Council in November 2009, 4 the Inter-American System’s Assistance Fund has two separate accounts: one corresponding to the InterAmerican Commission and the other to the Inter-American Court. As regards the financing of the Inter-American System’s Assistance Fund, currently this depends on “voluntary capital contributions from the Members States of the OAS, the Permanent Observer States, and other States and donors that may wish to collaborate with the Fund.” 5 In addition, according to article 4 of the Rules of Procedure approved by the Permanent Council, it corresponded to the Court to establish the formal requirements for eligibility to request assistance, and also the approval procedure. 3. Consequently, on February 4, 2010, the Court adopted the Rules of Procedure of the Court’s Assistance Fund, which came into force on June 1, 2010, with the purpose of “regulat[ing] the operation of, and access to, the Victims' Legal Assistance Fund […] for the litigation of cases before it.” 6 As established in these Rules of Procedure, a presumed victim must fulfill three requirements in order to use this Fund: (1) request this in the brief with pleadings, motions and evidence; (2) prove, by means of a sworn affidavit and other appropriate evidence that satisfies the Court, that they lack sufficient financial resources to cover the costs of litigation before the Inter-American Court, and (3) indicate precisely which aspects of their participation in the proceedings require the use of the resources of the Court’s Assistance Fund. 4. Article 3 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court’s Assistance Fund stipulates that, on receiving a request to use these resources, the Secretariat of the Court must conduct a preliminary review of the request for assistance and require the requesting party to present any additional background information required for the request to be submitted to the consideration of the President of the Court, who will assess the petition and take the pertinent decision within three months of receiving all the necessary information. 5. The President observes that, regarding the request for resources from the Court’s Assistance Fund, on January 14, 2011, the representatives forwarded a brief by e-mail in which they requested “the Court’s […] comprehension with regard to the absence of the attachment [corresponding to the sworn statement of Eloísa Barrios], because [owing to] the recent death of Néstor Caudi Barrios, the Barrios family has been unable to give their attention to this matter.” The Court’s Secretariat received the sworn statements of Eloísa Barrios and the independent accountant (infra eighth considering paragraph) on January 19, 2 AG/RES. 2426 (XXXVIII-O/08) Resolution adopted by the thirty-eighth OAS General Assembly, at the fourth plenary session, held on June 3, 2008, “Establishment of the Legal Assistance Fund of the Inter-American Human Rights System,” operative paragraph 2(b). 3 AG/RES. 2426 (XXXVIII-O/08), supra note 2, operative paragraph 2(a), and Resolution CP/RES. 963 (1728/09), supra note 2, article 1(1). 4 CP/RES. 963 (1728/09), Resolution adopted on November 11, 2009, by the OAS Permanent Council, “Rules of Procedure for the Operation of the Legal Assistance Fund of the Inter-American Human Rights System.” 5 Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American System’s Assistance Fund, supra note 4, article 2(1). 6 Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on the Operation of the Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund approved by the Court on February 4, 2010, Article 1. 2