“the need to obtain justice.”3 The Court notes with concern that twenty years had elapsed between the presentation of the initial petition and the submission of the case to the Court. 4. Requests of the Commission. - The Commission requested that the Court declare the international responsibility of the State for the violation of the rights to a fair trial, to judicial protection and to work set out in Articles 8(1), 25(1) and 26 of the Convention, read in conjunction with Articles 1(1) and 2 thereof, to the detriment of the alleged victims. II PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COURT 5. Notification to the State and to the representatives. – On October 5, 2020, the submission of the case was notified to the State4 and to the representatives of the alleged victims.5 6. Brief with pleadings, motions and evidence. – On November 24, 2020, the representatives presented their brief of pleadings, motions and evidence (hereinafter “pleadings and motions brief”), pursuant to Articles 25 and 40 of the Rules. They requested that the Court declare the international responsibility of the State for the violation of the rights to a fair trial (judicial guarantees), to judicial protection and to economic, social and cultural rights, established in Articles 8(1), 25(1) and 26 of the Convention, read in conjunction with Articles 1(1) and 2 thereof. They also requested some measures of reparation. 7. Answering brief. – On March 30, 2021,6 the State submitted its brief (hereinafter “answering brief”) in response to the submission of the case as well as its observations on the pleadings and motions brief. It presented five preliminary objections and its arguments regarding the number of alleged victims and the inclusion of family members in the pleadings and motions brief. The State also denied the violations and opposed the requests of measures of reparation presented by the Commission and the representatives. The Commission named as its delegates Commissioner Edgar Stuardo Ralón Orellana and Paulo Abrão, Marisol Blanchard Vera and Jorge Humberto Meza Flores, who were then Executive Secretary, Deputy Executive Secretary and Specialist, respectively. It also named Erick Acuña Pereda, specialist of the Commission’s Secretariat, as legal advisor. 3 By note of October 20, 2020, Peru named Carlos Miguel Reaño Balarezo, Specialized Public Prosecutor for International Affairs, as its agent for this case and, as alternate agents, Carlos Llaja Villena, Deputy Specialized Public Prosecutor for International Affairs, and Judith Cateriny Córdova Alva, a lawyer. 4 The original representative is Javier Mujica Petit. In communications received on June 27 and July 4, 2022, the alleged victims Luis Alberto Sánchez Villanueva, Angelita Jeni Torres Novoa, Valerio Calderón Gonzáles, Carlo Juan Castillo Salazar and Dante Pedro A. Zegarra Salazar named Elizabeth Elisa Ledesma Rojas, who is also an alleged victim, as a second representative in the case. 5 6 By communication of January 14, 2021, the State requested an extension of the period to present its answering brief. It based its request on (i) the multitude of alleged victims; the alleged procedural issue on the exhaustion of domestic remedies, and the access of the employees, whose dismissals were declared irregular, to the Special Benefits Program; (ii) the regulatory causes for extending the period to present its answering brief, and (iii) the alleged uncertainty regarding the representation of the totality of the alleged victims. The State’s request, repeated on February 1, 2021, asked that the Court also take into account the restrictions to mobility due to Covid-19 pandemic; some issues related to the representation of the alleged victims, and the fact that the representatives did not include the appendices in their pleadings and motions brief. By instruction of the then President of the Court, in a note of February 3, 2021 and in view of the situation described by the State regarding the restrictions imposed in Peru due to the spread of Covid, the State was granted, as an exception, an extension to March 30, 2021 to present its answering brief. 5