5
26.
On December 11, 1991, the Court formed a special committee to determine the procedure
for examination of the evidence and authorized the President to convoke the parties to a private
meeting on January 17 and 18, 1992.
27.
As a consequence of the preceding and by Resolution of January 18, 1992, the President
summoned the parties to a public hearing to be held on June 30, 1992, in order to hear the
allegations of the Government and the comments of the Commission concerning the opposition of
the Government to the appearance of some of the witnesses offered by the Commission. The
President also resolved that, in case the Court deem it pertinent, the testimonies of the
Commission's witnesses and experts would be received in a public hearing on July 1, 1992 and
that the Commission should submit the resumes and opinions of said experts before March 2,
1992. He further requested the Government to submit a copy of certain documents and to adopt
the measures necessary to ensure that the bodies of the inmates who died at "El Frontón" not be
moved from the cemeteries where they were buried.
28.
On February 12, 1992, the Government asked the Court to modify the President's
Resolution. It also requested that the dates for the hearings be maintained to resolve the issue of
the disqualification of witnesses. It further requested that the hearing for the delivery of its
allegations and the Commission's comments not be made public. The Court denied this request on
June 29, 1992, as it felt that no exceptional circumstances, such as those referred to in Article 14
of the Rules of Procedure, were present in this case.
29.
The Commission requested a 30-day extension for submitting its experts' resumes and
opinions in compliance with the President's resolution. The Government objected.
30.
On March 24, 1992, the President partially modified his January 18, 1992, Resolution and
resolved that, if found pertinent after the hearing, the Court would opportunely summon the
witnesses and experts offered by the Commission to deliver their testimonies. By note of that
same date, the President denied the application for extension to which the preceding paragraph
refers "in view of the fact that the Commission has had the opportunity and the time necessary to
submit said information by the deadline set, and that, by their very nature, judicial deadlines
must be met except for exceptional causes which are not found in this case."
31.
On April 9, 1992, the Commission applied for reconsideration against the preceding
decision and submitted the resumes and expert opinions of Enrique Bernardo, Guillermo Tamayo,
Robert H. Kirschner and Clyde C. Snow. By note of April 30, 1992, the Government requested that
the documents be returned to the Commission as their submission was improper and would avoid
compliance with the March 24 decision.
32.
By Resolution of July 1, 1992, the Court confirmed the President's decision not to grant the
30-day extension requested by the Commission; instructed that the resumes and expert opinions
submitted be maintained in the case file to be examined in due time; and authorized the President
to resolve, subject to prior consultation with the Permanent Commission, whether to admit the
statements of the experts offered by the Commission.
33.
By note of July 3, 1992, the Government requested the annulment of the preceding
decision, which request the President rejected for being notoriously improper.
34.
During the 21º Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American
States (hereinafter "the OAS"), the State Parties in the Convention elected Dr. Alejandro MontielArgüello, Dr. Máximo Pacheco-Gómez, and Dr. Hernán Salgado-Pesantes as new judges of the
Court and reelected Judge Héctor Fix-Zamudio. On June 29, 1992, the Court, with its new
membership having been designated as of January 1, 1992, and in consideration of Judge ad hoc