16 reiterated to Brazil the extension granted by the President to submit its brief answering the application.41 To date, the Court has not received the other attachments listed in the pleadings and motions brief. 57. The Court notes that, without prejudice to the two-month time limit for the representatives to present their pleadings, motions and evidence established in Article 36 of the Rules of Procedure, Article 26 of these regulations establishes that, should they be sent electronically, the original brief and the evidence accompanying it “shall be submitted” (“deverão ser remitidos” [Note: ‘shall be forwarded’ in the Portuguese version]), within seven days at the latest.42 It can therefore be interpreted, as the representatives have, that the said term of seven days refers to the act of the parties sending the said documents, and not to their reception by the Court.43 Consequently, the Court considers that the original pleadings and motions brief and the five attachments were presented by the representatives respecting the time limit indicated in Articles 26(1) and 36(1) of the Rules of Procedure. 58. The Court also observes that, according to Article 38 of the Rules of Procedure,44 the State initially had until June 11, 2008, to present its answer to the application and observations on the pleadings and motions brief. Calculation of the four-month time limit established in Article 38 of the Rules of Procedure began as of the notification of the application, irrespective of reception of its attachments or of the pleadings and motions brief.45 Given the delay in the reception of the attachments to the latter brief, the President, ex officio, granted the State an extension until July 11, 2008; in other words, an additional 30 days to present its defense. Furthermore, the lapse between the date established in the Rules of Procedure on which the representatives should have send their original pleadings and motions brief and its attachments, on April 18, 2008, and the date on which they were received by the State, on May 23, 2008, represented a delay of 35 days in the processing of this case. In this regard, the additional time granted to Brazil to submit its answer to the application up until July 11, 2008, was 30 days; in other words, very similar to the time that transpired between the expiry of the time limit established in the said Article 26(1) and the date on which the State received the original brief and its attachments. 41 Cf. Note of the Secretariat CDH-12,478/031 of May 23, 2008 (merits file, tome I, folio 642 to 644). 42 This expression corresponds, in the Spanish and French versions of the Rules of Procedure to “deberán ser remitidos” and “doivent être présentés,” respectively. 43 To avoid possible ambiguity in the interpretations of this time limit, the Rules of Procedure of the Court in force as of March 24, 2009 establish: Article 27(1). Filing of briefs The application, the answer thereto, the brief containing pleadings, motions, and evidence, as well as any other written material addressed to the Court, may be presented in person, by courier, facsimile, telex, mail, or any other method generally used. When any such material is transmitted to the Court by electronic means, the original documents and annexes must be submitted to the Court within a nonrenewable term of 21 days as from the expiration of the deadline established to submit those documents. To ensure the authenticity of the documents the Court shall have an adequate protocol. 44 Article 38 of the Rules of Procedure applicable to this case stipulated: Article 38. Answer to the application The respondent shall answer the application in writing within a period of 4 months of the notification, which may not be extended. The requirements indicated in Article 33 of these Rules shall apply. The Secretary shall communicate the said answer to the persons referred to in Article 35(1) above. Within this same period, the respondent shall present its comments on the written brief containing pleadings, motions and evidence. These observations may be included within the answer to the application or in a separate brief. 45 The Rules of Procedure of the Court in force as of March 24, 2009 establish: Article 39(1) Answer to the application. The respondent shall answer the application together with the brief containing pleadings, motions, and evidence in writing, within the non-renewable term of 2 months as of the receipt of the latter brief and its annexes. [...]