4 IV PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COURT 8. On September 13, 2004, the Inter-American Commission decided to submit the instant case to the jurisdiction of the Court 1), together with documentary evidence and offered to submit testimonies of witnesses and expert witnesses as further evidence. The Commission appointed as delegates Messrs. Freddy Gutiérrez, Florentín Meléndez, Evelio Fernández Arévalo and Santiago A. Canton and as legal counsel Messrs. Ariel Dulitzky, Víctor Hugo Madrigal, Pedro E. Díaz and a la Mrs. Manuela Cuvi. 9. On October 13, 2004, the Secretariat of the Court (hereinafter “the Secretariat”), after a preliminary examination of the application by the President of the Court (hereinafter “the President”), served the said application and its annexes on the State and also notified the State of the term within which it had to answer the application and to appoint its agents in the proceedings. On the same date, pursuant to the provisions in Article 35 (1) (d) and (e) of the Rules of Procedure, the Secretariat served the application on the original petitioner, Mrs. Victoria Margarita Palomino-Buitrón, and on the representatives of the next of kin of the alleged victim (hereinafter “the representatives”), the Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos (APRODEH) (Pro Human Rights Association), and informed them they had a two-month time limit to file their brief of requests, arguments and evidence (hereinafter “the brief of requests and arguments”). 10. On November 12, 2004, the State appointed Manuel Álvarez-Chauca as Agent in the instant case. 11. On December 14, 2004, the representatives filed a brief of requests and arguments, and attached documentary evidence and offered testimonies of expert witnesses as evidence. 12. On February 11, 2005 the State files its answer to the application and its observations to the brief of requests and arguments (hereinafter “answer to the application”). On February 2005, the Secretariat received the documentary evidence attending the aforementioned answer to the application. In such brief, the State acknowledged in part its international responsibility for the events in the instant case (infra paras. 24 and 43). 13. On March 3, 2005 the Secretariat, following instructions of the InterAmerican Court in full, requested the State to clarify some points regarding the scope of the acknowledgement of international responsibility it had carried out (supra para. 12). 14. On April 7, 2005 the State, in response to the enquiry addressed it by the Inter-American Court, filed a brief clarifying the acknowledgment of responsibility it had carried out in the answer to the application. 15. On May 4, 2005 the representatives filed their observations to the acknowledgement of international responsibility carried out by the State in its