16 42) On November 16, 2001, the Secretariat, as instructed by the President of the Court, and pursuant to Article 44 of its Rules of Procedure, requested that the InterAmerican Commission and the representatives of the alleged victims submit arguments concerning reparations, costs and expenses, to be considered in the event that the Court should find violations of the Convention in the three cases. 43) On November 30, 2001, the Court ordered the joinder of the Hilaire, Constantine et al. and Benjamin et al. Cases and their respective proceedings and stated that the now consolidated Case would henceforth be referred to as the Hilaire, Constantine and Benjamin et al. v. Trinidad and Tobago Case. 26 44) On December 14, 2001, the Inter-American Commission submitted its pleadings on eventual reparations in the recently joined case and provided the Court with its final list of expert witnesses who would participate in an eventual public hearing on the case. 27 45) On December 17, 2001, the representatives of the alleged victims submitted their arguments on eventual reparations. 46) On December 28, 2001, the Court requested comments from the State on the pleadings submitted by the Commission and by the representatives of the alleged victims within thirty days from the date of receipt of the communication. These observations were never submitted by the State. 47) On January 18, 2002, the President of the Court issued an Order convening the parties to a public hearing on the merits and eventual reparations in the Hilaire, Constantine and Benjamin et al. Case. 48) On January 22, 2002, the Court received the written reports of experts Desmond Allum (infra para. 77(a)), Gaietry Pargass (infra para. 77(c)), and Vivien Stern and Andrew Coyle (infra para. 76(b)). Likewise, on January 23, 2002, the Court received the expert report of Scharlette Holdman (infra para. 76(c)). 49) On February 8, 2002, the State informed that it would not attend the public hearing convened by the Court (supra para. 16). 50) On February 11, 2002, the Court received the written expert report of Nigel Eastman (infra para. 77(b)). 51) On February 19, 2002, Messrs. Vaughan Lowe and Guy Goodwin-Gill jointly submitted an amicus curiae brief. 52) On February 20 and 21, 2002, at a public hearing, the Court heard the testimony of the three expert witnesses called by the Inter-American Commission, as well as the final arguments on the merits and eventual reparations from the Commission and the representatives of the alleged victims. 26 Supra note 2. 27 The following persons were proposed by the Commission as expert witnesses for the public hearing: Desmond Allum, Gaietry Pargass and Nigel Eastman. Likewise, it offered written expert reports from Vivien Stern and Andrew Coyle, Scharlette Holdman and Thomas Warlow.