4 Nogueira de Carvalho, and that the Federal Government would undertake negotiations with the Government of the State of Rio Grande do Norte to elicit recognition of its responsibility for the murder of Gilson Nogueira de Carvalho and agree with the next of kin on measures of reparation. It noted that the restoration of democracy in Brazil was inseparable from the battle of human rights defenders, and therefore, in addition to adopting other initiatives intended to protect them, it had finished drafting a national Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, which would be officially released soon after the submission of the State's report. 14. On January 12, 2005, the State submitted its third report on measures adopted to comply with the three recommendations contained in Report on the Merits No. 22/04. The State reiterated the content of its previous reports and stated that the accused, Otávio Ernesto Moreira, had been acquitted by the jury trial and that the Office of the Public Prosecutor had filed an appeal, based on absolute nullity, with the Court of Justice of the State of Rio Grande do Norte. The State also reiterated that the Office of the Public Prosecutor had expressed its commitment to pursue every possible remedy before the High Court of Justice and the Federal Supreme Court. Therefore, it stated that the procedural stages of the case should not be considered concluded, as the accused could be convicted by the higher courts. The State asserted that the Special Human Rights Secretariat of the President of Brazil had repeatedly addressed the Government of the State of Rio Grande do Norte to initiate negotiations for redressing the moral and material damages suffered by the next of kin of Gilson Nogueira de Carvalho, but that it had encountered resistance by authorities of the State of Rio Grande do Norte. 15. On December 21, 2004, in consideration of the reports submitted by the State, the Commission again consulted the petitioners about remitting the case to the Court. On December 27, 2004, the petitioners stated that it was “extremely important to send the case to the Inter-American Court [… because] the State [had not complied] with the three recommendations [made by the] Commission.” IV PROCEEDING BEFORE THE COURT 16. On January 13, 2005, the Commission lodged the application with the Court, attaching documentary evidence thereto and proffering testimonial and expert evidence. The Commission designated José Zalaquett and Santiago A. Canton as delegates and Ariel Dulitzky, Ignacio Álvarez and Víctor Hugo Madrigal Borloz as legal advisors. On February 11, 2005, the Commission filed the application in Portuguese. 17. On February 21, 2005, the Secretariat of the Court (hereinafter “the Secretariat”), after the President of the Court (hereinafter “the President”) had completed a preliminary examination of the application, notified the State concerning the application and its appendixes and informed it of the time limitations for it to respond and designate its agents for the case. 18. On February 21, 2005, in keeping with the provisions of Article 35(1) subparagraphs d and e of the Rules of Procedure, the Secretariat sent notice of the application to Global Justice and the Centro de Derechos Humanos y Memoria Popular, designated in the application as representatives of the alleged victims (hereinafter “the representatives”) and