ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS OF APRIL 6, 2001 REQUEST FOR PROVISIONAL MEASURES BY THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE MATTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA THE LA NACIÓN NEWSPAPER CASE HAVING SEEN: The communication of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Commission” or “the Inter-American Commission”) of March 28, 2001, in which it filed a request for provisional measures in favor of Mauricio Herrera Ulloa and Fernán Vargas Rohrmoser, respectively, journalist and legal representative of the Costa Rican newspaper, La Nación, “for [the Court to call on] the Republic of Costa Rica to protect the freedom of expression” of the said persons. CONSIDERING: 1. That Costa Rica has been a State Party to the American Convention since April 8, 1970, and recognized the obligatory jurisdiction of the Court on July 2, 1980. 2. That Article 63.2 of the Convention establishes that: In cases of extreme gravity and urgency, and when necessary to avoid irreparable damage to persons, the Court shall adopt such provisional measures as it deems pertinent in matters it has under consideration. With respect to a case not yet submitted to the Court, it may act at the request of the Commission. 3. That, in this respect, Article 25.1 of the Rules of Procedure establishes that: At any stage of the proceedings involving cases of extreme gravity and urgency, and when necessary to avoid irreparable damage to persons, the Court may, at the request of a party or on its own motion, order such provisional measures as it deems pertinent, pursuant to Article 63.2 of the Convention. Furthermore, paragraph 4 of this article stipulates that: If the Court is not sitting, the President, in consultation with the Permanent Commission and, if possible, with the other judges, shall call upon the government concerned to adopt such urgent measures as may be necessary to ensure the effectiveness of any provisional measures that may be ordered by the Court at its next session. 4. That, on examining the Commission’s communication of March 28, 2001 (supra having seen 1), the President considers that the request includes elements that appear to be related to the merits of the case and deems it necessary to request additional information from the Inter-American Commission and the State of Costa Rica (hereinafter “the State” or “Costa Rica”). Accordingly, both parties should submit information to the Court in writing on the following aspects: a) the urgency of the situation; b) the gravity of the situation; c) the probability of irreparable damage to the alleged victims, and d) the implications that a decision by the Court on the