3 I INTRODUCTION TO THE CASE AND PURPOSE OF THE DISPUTE 1. The case submitted to the Court. – On January 20, 2012, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter-American Commission” or “the Commission”) submitted to the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights Inter-American Court (hereinafter “brief submitting the case”) the case of "Liakat Ali Alibux" against the Republic of Suriname (hereinafter “the State” or “Suriname”). According to the Commission, the case refers to the investigation and criminal proceedings brought against Mr. Liakat Ali Alibux – Former Minister of Finance and Former Minister of Natural Resources – who, on November 5, 2003, was convicted of the crime of forgery, in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Indictment of Political Office Holders Act (hereinafter “IPOHA”). 2. Proceedings before the Commission. – The processing of the case before the InterAmerican Commission was as follows: a) Petition. – the initial petition dated July 20, 2003, was received by the Commission on August 22, 2003, from Liakat Ali Alibux; b) Admissibility Report. - On March 9, 2007, the Inter-American Commission approved the Admissibility Report No. 34/07.1 c) Report on the Merits. – On July 22, 2011, the Commission approved the Merits Report No. 101/112 under the terms of Article 50 of the American Convention (hereinafter “the Merits Report” or “Report No. 101/11”), in which it made a number of recommendations to the State. a. Conclusions. – The Commission concluded that the State was responsible for the violation of the following rights recognized in the American Convention: i. ii. iii. iv. b. the right to appeal the judgment to a higher court (Article 8(2)(h) of the Convention) to the detriment of Liakat Ali Alibux; the freedom from ex post facto laws (Article 9 of the Convention) to the detriment of Liakat Ali Alibux; the freedom of movement (Article 22 of the Convention) to the detriment of Liakat Ali Alibux; and the right to judicial protection (Article 25 of the Convention) to the detriment of Liakat Ali Alibux; Recommendations. – As a consequence, the Commission issued a series of recommendations to the State: i. ii. iii. iv. order the necessary measures to nullify the criminal proceedings and conviction imposed on Mr. Alibux; provide appropriate reparations in favor of Mr. Alibux for the declared violations; adopt the necessary measures of non-repetition so that high officers prosecuted for acts committed within their official capacities have an effective remedy to request review of their convictions; and adopt the legislative or other measures that may be necessary to guarantee an effective mechanism of review of issues of a constitutional nature. 1 In that report, the Inter-American Commission declared the petition admissible with regard to the alleged violation of Articles 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 22 and 25 of the American Convention, in conjunction with Article 1.1 thereof and denied the admissibility of the alleged violation of Articles 11 and 24. Cf. Admissibility Report No. 34/07, Petition 661-03, Liakat Ali Alibux, Suriname, March 9, 2007. 2 II). Cf. Merits Report No. 101/11, Case No. 12.608, Liakat Ali Alibux v. Suriname, July 22, 2001 (f. 683, Tomo