ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE
INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
OF JUNE 2, 2022
CASE OF BISSOON AND SERRETTE V. TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
HAVING SEEN:
1.
The application submitted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
(hereinafter “the Inter-American Commission” or “the Commission”) to the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter-American Court” or “the Court”) on June 29,
2021; the brief containing pleadings, motions, and evidence (hereinafter “the
representatives’ brief”) submitted by the representatives of the alleged victims (hereinafter
“the representatives”) on December 20, 2021, and the communication of March 31, 2022,
by which the Registrar noted that the deadline set for the State of Trinidad and Tobago to
respond to the submission of the case and to the Brief of Pleadings, Motions and Evidence
expired on March 14, 2022, but that the State had not submitted its response.
2.
The Registrar’s note of March 29, 2022 which, on instruction from the President,
granted the request by the alleged victims' representatives for access to the Court's Victims'
Legal Assistance Fund.
3.
The final lists of proposed declarants submitted by the Inter-American Commission and
the representatives of April 8, 2022. The Representatives’ brief of 25, April 2022 in which
they indicated that they supported the Commission’s request to transfer the expert opinion
given by Desmond Allum in the Case of Hilaire, Constantine and Benjamin et al. v. Trinidad
and Tobago.
4.
The Commission's brief of April 29, 2022, indicating that it had “no comments” to make
on the representatives’ final list of declarants.
CONSIDERING:
1.
The procedure for admitting and taking evidence is governed by Articles 35(1)(f),
40(2)(c), 41(1)(c), 46, 47, 48, 50, 52(3), 57 and 58 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure
(hereinafter “Rules of Procedure”).
2.
The Commission requested that the expert opinion rendered by Desmond Allum in the
Case of Hilaire, Constantine and Benjamin et al. v. Trinidad and Tobago, be transferred to
the instant case, and the representatives requested that the Court admit the statements of
the alleged victims Mr Reshi Bissoon and Mr Foster Serrette, as well as the expert testimony
of Douglas Mendes QC.
3.
The Inter-American Commission, the representatives, and the State were given
the right of defense regarding the evidentiary proposals made by each of the parties at
different stages of the procedure. Neither the Commission, nor the parties offered any
objections to the proposals submitted.