79
cents) in favor of CEJIL, for the expenses incurred in the participation in the public
hearing.
299. The State claimed that it “paid Q820,754.72 [(eight hundred twenty
thousand, seven hundred fifty-four quetzals with seventy-two cents)] for costs and
expenses […] for the processing before the Commission.” Also, in relation to the
expenses incurred by the representatives during the public hearing, the State
objected some of them, considering “that they do not correspond to the proceeding
before the Court.” 285
300. As the Court has indicated, the costs and expenses are part of the reparation
(supra para. 296), if and when the activity shown by the victims in order to obtain
justice, both domestically and internationally, implies disbursements that must be
compensated when the State’s international responsibility is declared through a
condemnatory judgment. Regarding the reimbursement, it is the Court’s role to
carefully assess its scope, which comprises the expenses generated before the
authorities of the domestic jurisdiction, as well as those generated during the
proceeding before this Court, considering the circumstances of the concrete case and
the nature of the international jurisdiction of the protection of human rights. This
assessment can be made based on the principle of equity and considering the
expenses indicated by the parties, as long as their quantum is reasonable.286
301. In this regard, the Court, when assessing all of the vouchers submitted by the
representatives, will consider the State’s objections regarding certain expenses
(supra para. 299). The Court also repeats that “the submission of evidentiary
documents is not sufficient, the parties are required to argue the relationship of the
evidence with the fact considered represented, and which, when related to claimed
economic disbursements, the areas and justifications of the expenses should be
established with clarity.” 287
302. In the instant case, at the time of submitting their brief of pleadings and
motions, the representatives did not submit the vouchers of the costs and expenses
which FAMDEGUA had allegedly incurred at that time. The representatives only
indicated that they did not keep receipts of these expenses, and asked the Court to
establish them on the grounds of equity. In this regard, the Court indicated that “the
victims’ or their representatives’ claims in terms of the costs and expenses, and the
receipts that support them, must be presented to the Court at the first procedural
time granted to them, that is, in the brief of pleadings and motions, which does not
preclude these claims from being updated at a later time, in conformity with the new
costs and expenses incurred in the proceeding before this Court.”288 The Court notes
that FAMDEGUA later submitted various receipts relating to the expenses incurred in
285
Namely: i) costs to mobilize the people who participated in the march to the Supreme Court of
Justice, organized by FAMDEGUA; ii) purchase of a cell phone and charges to that phone in La Paz, Bolivia,
acquired by CEJIL; iii) Medical Insurance of attorney Carlos Pelayo Moller; iv) excess weight at the airline;
v) transfers from the airport of Bolivia to the hotel, considering that “it is not equal to the real cost [of the]
taxi service in that country; vi) expert opinon of April 7, 2009 by Nieves Gómez, given that “it was
proposed by the representatives” and “considering that the cost is too high”, and vii) unexpected expenses
“not detailed [by] the representatives.” The State added that “the plane tickets paid for the transfer of the
representatives, witnesses, and expert witnesses in the case were present[ed] twice […].”
286
Cf. Case of Garrido and Baigorria v. Argentina. Reparations and Costs, supra note 284, para. 82;
Case of Acevedo Buendía et al. (“Discharged and Retired Employees of the Office of the Comptroller”) v.
Peru, supra note 30, para. 145, and Case of Dacosta Cadogan v. Barbados, supra note 28, para. 119.
287
Case of Chaparro Álvarez and Lapo Íñiguez v. Ecuador. Preliminary Objections, Merits,
Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 21, 2007. Series C No. 170, para. 277, and Case of
Reverón Trujillo v. Venezuela, supra note 29, para. 201.
288
Case of Chaparro Álvarez and Lapo Iñiguez v. Ecuador, supra note 287, para. 275; Case of Escher
et al. v. Brasil, supra note 33, para. 259, and Case of Anzualdo Castro v. Peru, supra note 28, para. 228.
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