41 COSTS AND EXPENSES 172. In her reparations brief, the victim pointed out that Ms. Carolina LoayzaTamayo, her sister and attorney, was her defense lawyer in her representations before Peruvian authorities and administrative bodies during the domestic proceedings. She estimated her fees at US$15,000.00 (fifteen thousand United States dollars). The victim also estimated that her attorney had visited her approximately 200 times during her incarceration. 173. The victim added that her attorney also represented her before the Commission; that the latter had accredited her as an assistant in the proceedings before the Court; and that her sister had used her own funds to pay the expenses involved in the proceedings before those two bodies of the inter-American system, including her airfare and the costs of the telephone, mail, fax and courier services. Given the foregoing, the victim requested the sum of US$5,000.00 (five thousand United States dollars) for reimbursement of those expenses. 174. The Commission petitioned the Court to order payment of the expenses that Carolina Loayza-Tamayo had incurred in her legal representation of the victim vis-àvis the Peruvian courts and the organs of the inter-American system; the itemization and calculations submitted by the victim in her brief were forwarded to the Court. 175. Peru pointed out that in its Judgment of September 17, 1997, the Court had decided that Peru was to reimburse the victim’s next of kin for any expenses they may have incurred in their representations. The State argued that inasmuch as the Commission did not name Ms. Carolina Loayza-Tamayo as a victim, any request on her behalf was irrelevant and immaterial. Using this reasoning, Peru argued that the victim’s claims at this stage of the proceedings were inadmissible. It further contended that the Judgment had ordered reimbursement of expenses incurred in representations before the Peruvian authorities, but not payment of professional fees. 176. Concerning these arguments, the Court considers that in the instant case, the costs must be examined in light of subparagraph (h) of Article 55(1) of its Rules of Procedure. Costs are an element of the reparations of which Article 63(1) of the Convention speaks, as they are a natural consequence of actions taken by the victim, her heirs or her representatives to obtain a Court resolution recognizing the violation committed and establishing its legal consequences. In other words, the activity in which they engaged to have recourse to an international court involves or can involve financial outlays and commitments for which the victim must be compensated when a judgment of condemnation is delivered. 177. In keeping with the applicable provisions, the Court considers that the costs to which Article 55(1) of its Rules of Procedure refers include the various outlays that the victim makes or pledges to make to accede to the inter-American system for the protection of human rights, and include the fees that are routinely paid to those who provide them with legal assistance. Obviously, these expenses refer solely to those that are necessary and reasonable, according to the particularities of the case, and that are effectively made or pledged to be made by the victim or her representatives (Garrido and Baigorria Case, Reparations, supra 84, para. 80). 178. It is important to point out that under Article 23 of the Rules of Procedure, the representatives of the victims or of their next of kin may independently submit