96
must be compensated when the international responsibility of the State has been declared
in a Judgment.
306. The Court also reiterates that it is not sufficient merely to provide probative
documentation; rather the parties are required to submit arguments that relate the
evidence to the fact that it is considered to represent and that, with regard to alleged
financial disbursements, the items and their justification are clearly established. 368
307. In the instant case, the evidence provided by the representative and the
corresponding arguments do not justify fully the amounts requested. In addition, the Court
notes that, in the motions and arguments brief, CEJIL requested the payment of the costs of
the proceedings, but, in a communication of February 8, 2013, indicated that “as of that
day, it [would] not continue providing legal representation to Rosa Elvira Franco Sandoval
and her family”; nevertheless, it did not submit a request for costs and expenses for itself.
Consequently, the Court will not rule in this regard. Taking this into account, the Court
establishes, in equity, the sum of US$10,000.00 (ten thousand United States dollars), which
must be delivered to REDNOVI, based on the expenses for the processing of the
proceedings before the inter-American human rights system. This amount must be delivered
to the representative. At the stage of monitoring compliance with this Judgment, the Court
may establish the reimbursement by the State to the victims or their representatives of
subsequent reasonable and duly authenticated expenses. 369
H. Reimbursement of expenses to the Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund
308. In 2008, the General Assembly of the Organization of American States established
the Legal Assistance Fund of the inter-American human rights system, “in order to “facilitate
access to the inter-American human rights system by persons who currently lack the
resources needed to bring their cases before the system.” 370 In the instant case, the orders
of the President of January 8 and April 10, 2013 (supra paras. 9 and 11), authorized access
to the Legal Assistance Fund to cover reasonable and necessary expenses, which, in this
case, consisted in: (i) the necessary travel and accommodation expenses for Rosa Elvira
Franco Sandoval and María Eugenia Solís to attend the public hearing, and (ii) the expenses
of the preparation and delivery of the affidavits of the victims, Leonel Enrique Veliz Franco
and José Roberto Franco.
309. Later, in a note of the Secretariat dated August 28, 2013, the State was given the
procedural opportunity to present observations on the report of the disbursements made in
application of the Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund. In its brief with observations, and
previously in its answering brief, the State indicated that: (a) “it cannot accept that [the
Court] convict it in this case […] because it does not consider itself responsible for any of
the presumed violations; (b) because the main purpose of having recourse to the Court […]
is not for the supposed victims to be able to enrich themselves at the expense of the State”;
(c) and because the representative altered “the accounting documents related to the
expense incurred for funeral services” and that “the principles of truth and good faith, and
procedural economy have been infringed,” it was opposed to reimbursing any sum of money
to the supposed victim and to her representative, and (d) it did not consider it fair to have
to reimburse sums of money to the Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund because [according to
the State,] as they were going to be covered by the Fund, there was an unnecessary and
unjustified increase in the expenses.”
368
Cf. Case of Chaparro Álvarez and Lapo Iñiguez, supra, para. 277, and Case of J., supra, para. 421.
369
Cf. Case of Ibsen Cárdenas and Ibsen Peña v. Bolivia. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of
September 1, 2010. Series C No. 217, para. 291 and Case of Liakat Ali Alibux, supra, para. 165.
370
AG/RES. 2426 (XXXVIII-O/08), Resolution adopted by the thirty-eighth General Assembly of the OAS,
during the fourth plenary session, held on June 3, 2008, “Creation of the Legal Assistance Fund of the InterAmerican Human Rights System,” operative paragraph 2(b), operative paragraph 2(a), and CP/RES. 963
(1728/09), Resolution adopted by the OAS Permanent Council on November 11, 2009, “Rules of Procedure for the
Legal Assistance Fund of the Inter-American Human Rights System,” article 1(1).