submitted a new estimate of said items adding up to US$ 180,786.81 (one hundred and eighty thousand seven hundred and eighty-six United States dollars and eighty-one cents), instead of the original estimate included in their brief on reparations, which added up to 141,768,353 (one hundred and fortyone million seven hundred and sixty-eight thousand three hundred and fiftythree Colombian pesos).88 Finally, they reiterated their willingness to waive restitution of the expenses if the State voluntarily agrees to adopt several measures of satisfaction; and b) CEJIL requested in the brief on reparations, for expenses incurred during the proceedings before the Court, US$ 10,388.70 (ten thousand three hundred and eighty-eight United States dollars and seventy cents). Arguments of the Commission 79. The Commission argued that: a) payment for legal costs and expenses requested by the representatives of the next of kin of the victims is reasonable and they agree with the request, fully justified in light of the economic efforts made by said representatives during the proceedings; and b) they do not agree with the position of the State regarding nonreimbursement of expenses related, among other items, to appearance of witnesses at the hearing on the merits, as the Court had to take their testimony into account to reach its decision on the case. It is the understanding of the Commission that Colombia is under an obligation to cover the probatory expenses incurred during these proceedings because it is evidence gathered in view of decisions of the Court, and it is not at the will of the State to determine which evidence-gathering costs it must pay. Arguments of the State 80. The State, in turn, argued that a) it would not be fair in this case for the State to cover expenses that were not incurred by the representatives of the next of kin of the victims in connection with the proceedings or evidence that was decreed despite the opposition o the State and that was not useful for the proceedings, such as presentation of the witnesses, the expert witness, evidence involving exhumation, and expenses of the “observer in the spectrometry test;” b) the amounts alleged by the representatives of the next of kin of the victims must be studied carefully to determine legal expenses and costs, as there are several inconsistencies in the appendices supplied by the Colombian Commission of Jurists regarding legal fees and they do not prove direct relationship of amounts charged for various expenses; and 88 This amount was roughly equivalent to US$ 61,430.00 (sixty-one thousand four hundred and thirty United States dollars), at the exchange rate between the Colombian peso and the United States dollar at the time the brief on reparations was filed.