27.
Specifically, it is pertinent to recall the provisions of Article 50(5) of the Rules of
Procedure, which establish that “the alleged victims or their representatives, the respondent
State, and, if applicable, the petitioning State may formulate questions in writing for the
declarants offered by the opposing party and, if applicable, by the Commission who have
been convened by the Court to render their statements by affidavit,” which must be read in
conjunction with Article 52(3) of the Rules of Procedure, which establishes the possibility
that the Commission may examine the expert witnesses presented by the other parties, “if
authorized by the Court upon receiving a well-grounded request therefor, when the interAmerican public order of human rights is affected in a significant manner and the statement
in question regards a topic included in the statement of an expert witness offered by the
Commission.” Thus, in each case, the Commission must substantiate the connection to both
inter-American public order, and the subject-matter of an expert opinion it is offering, so
that the Court or its President can assess the request opportunely and, if appropriate,
authorize the Commission to pose questions.
28.
The President observes that some aspects of the connection between the request to
pose questions and inter-American public order are related to the purpose of the expert
opinion of Hernán Gullco, proposed by the Commission. In this regard, the President
reiterates his previous considerations when ruling that the said expert opinion was
inadmissible, that its purpose does not appear to encompass information, knowledge or
parameters relating to the protection of human rights that could have a relevant effect on
inter-American public order. The President refers to the considerations expressed supra in
this regard, and finds that it is not appropriate to analyze this aspect of the Commission’s
request.
29.
With regard to the relationship between the proposed expert opinion of Mr. Moreno
and the purpose of Alejandro Morlachetti’s expert opinion, the President finds that the
purpose of Mr. Moreno’s expert opinion relates to domestic law on civil and commercial
procedure, which does not relate to inter-American public interest; consequently, the
Commission’s request to pose questions to expert witness Moreno is not admissible.
30.
The Commission also asked to question María Laura Subies with regard to the
decision mechanisms and practices [of the courts]” in cases related to children with
disabilities, given that “her expert opinion will refer to matters of inter-American public
interest, particularly to some points included in Mr. Morlachetti’s expert opinion.”
31.
Regarding the relationship between the expert opinions of Ms. Subies and Mr.
Morlachetti, the President emphasizes his considerations with regard to the purpose of Mr.
Morlachetti’s opinion to the effect that it relates to inter-American public order (supra
considering paragraph 20). From comparing the purposes of the two expert opinions, the
President concludes that both of them analyze relevant aspects of the rights of children with
disabilities; thus, in accordance with Articles 50(5) and 52(3), the Commission may pose
questions to expert witness Subies, whose expert opinion will be received at the public
hearing, given that the said questions could be relevant to inter-American public order.
e)
Use of the Assistance Fund
32.
The Order issued by the President on November 23, 2011 (supra having seen
paragraph 6), declared the request filed by the inter-American defenders to access the
Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund of the Inter-American Court admissible. Accordingly, he
declared that the required financial assistance would be granted to cover the reasonable
and necessary costs that had been and would be authenticated by the defenders in order to
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