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this obligation is of particular importance in the instant case, given the family
relationships that exist among the Saramakas.
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110. The Commission requests that Suriname be ordered to pay the expenses
relating to negotiations undertaken with the Government and those incurred in the
proceedings before the Commission and the Court.
111. The Court has already decided that the Government, as requested by the
Commission, shall reimburse the expenses incurred by the families of the victims in
their dealings with the Surinamese authorities (supra, paras. 94 and 95).
112. In the instant case, the events took place on December 31, 1987, and the
petition was received by the Secretariat of the Commission on January 15, 1988,
that is, fifteen days later. From that date on, the case was before, first, the
Commission and then the Court. The families of the victims did not have to pursue
lengthy proceedings in order to submit the case to the Commission, for the latter
took up the petition immediately. For this reason, they were not obliged to seek the
advice of a professional and, as a result, did not appoint anyone. Dr. Claudio
Grossman, who is identified by the Commission as the attorney for the victims, acted
as the legal advisor of the Commission when the case was brought to the Court (cfr.
Aloeboetoe et al. Case, supra, introductory paragraph, para. 7 and cf. supra,
para. 36).
113. The American Convention has established a system for the protection of
human rights in the Continent, assigning responsibilities primarily to two organs, the
Commission and the Court, whose costs are financed out of the budget of the
Organization of American States.
114. In the instant case, the Commission has preferred to fulfill the functions
assigned to it under the American Convention by contracting outside professionals
instead of using its own staff. The Commission’s operational arrangements are a
matter of its own internal organization and not subject to the intervention of the
Court. However, the Commission cannot demand that expenses incurred as a result
of its own internal work structure be reimbursed through the assessment of costs.
The operation of the human rights organs of the American system is funded by the
Member States by means of their annual contributions.
The Court also cannot assess as costs the expenses incurred by its Deputy Secretary
in travelling to Suriname, nor the advisory services required on financial or actuarial
issues. These are all expenses that the Court must incur as an organ of the system
in order to fulfill the functions ascribed to it by the American Convention.
115. In view of the above and of the fact that Suriname has expressly accepted its
international responsibility and has not in any way hindered the proceedings for the
fixing of reparations, the Court dismisses the Commission’s request for
reimbursement of costs.
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116.
Now, therefore,