I INTRODUCTION OF THE CASE AND CAUSE OF THE ACTION 1. The case submitted to the Court. On February 27, 2020, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter-American Commission” or “the Commission”) submitted to the jurisdiction of the Court the case of the Former Employees of the Judiciary regarding the Republic of Guatemala (hereinafter “the State” or “Guatemala”). The Commission indicated that the case relates to the dismissal of 93 employees of the Judiciary (Organismo Judicial) of Guatemala 1, as a consequence of a strike held in 1996. The Commission requested that the State be declared responsible for the violation of the rights to be heard, the right of defense, and the rights to due process, to strike and to work, recognized in Articles 8(1), 8(2)(b) and c), 25(1) and 26 of the American Convention, in relation to the obligations established in Articles 1(1) and 2 of the same instrument, to the detriment of the 65 former employees who were not rehired. 2. Processing before the Commission. The following proceedings took place before the Commission: a) Petition. On September 7, 2000, the Commission received an initial petition from the Human Rights Legal Action Center (hereinafter “CALDH”). b) Admissibility Report. On October 22, 2003, the Commission adopted Admissibility Report No. 78/03. c) Report on the Merits. On September 28, 2019, the Commission adopted Merits Report No. 157/19 in which it reached a number of conclusions 2 and made various recommendations to the State. d) Notification to the State. On November 27, 2019, the Merits Report was notified to the State, which was granted two months to report on its compliance with the recommendations. The State presented a brief in which it expressed its willingness to implement the recommendations. However, the State did not present a proposal for compliance or information to indicate that it had made contact with the alleged victims or their representatives. Furthermore, the State did not request an extension to present its report. 3. Submission to the Court. On February 27, 2020, the Commission 3 submitted to the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court all of the facts and violations of human rights described in Merits Report No. 157/19. This Court notes with concern that, between the filing of the initial petition before the Commission and the submission of the case before the Court, more than nineteen years have elapsed. 1 The Commission specified that of a total of 93 alleged victims, 28 were rehired and 65 were not. Thus, the 65 persons who were not rehired are considered as alleged victims in this case. The alleged victims held different positions within the Judiciary and included court officials, court secretaries, maintenance staff, office workers, service staff, administrative personnel, janitors, messengers and technicians, among others. 2 The Commission concluded that the State is responsible for the violation of the rights established in Articles 8(1), 8(2) (b), 8(2) (c), 25(1) and 26 of the American Convention in relation to Article 1(1) and 2 thereof, to the detriment of the 65 former employees identified in the Single Annex to the Report. 3 The Commission appointed Commissioner Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño and the then Executive Secretary Paulo Abrão as its delegates before the Court. It also appointed Marisol Blanchard Vera, Assistant Executive Secretary, Jorge Humberto Meza Flores and Christian Gonzáles Chacón, lawyers of the Commission’s Executive Secretariat, as legal advisers. 4