6 25. On the 28th and 29th day of June 2005 the Court held the public hearing on the merits and reparations and costs, in which it received the statements of the witnesses (infra paras. 40(1)(a), 40(1)(b), and 40(1)(c)) and the opinion of the expert witness (infra para. 40(2)(a)) proposed by the parties. Likewise, it heard the closing arguments of the Commission, the representatives, and the State. In the public hearing, the following appeared before the Court: a) for the Inter-American Commission, Messrs. Evelio Fernández and Santiago Canton as delegates and Mrs. Isabel Madariaga and Lilly Ching, and Mr. Víctor H. Madrigal as advisors; b) for the representatives of the alleged victim, Mrs. Soraya Long, Gisela de León, and Gabriela Citroni, and Mr. Luis Francisco Cervantes G., from CEJIL, and c) for the State, the Ambassador Álvaro Agüero Lacayo as Agent and Mrs. Argentina Wellermann as Deputy Agent; Mr. Sergio Zavala Leiva, Attorney General of Honduras; Mrs. Sandra Ponce, Special Prosecutor; Mr. Germán Siverstrutti, advisor of the Attorney General, and Mr. Roberto Ramos Bustos, General Director of Special Matters. 26. On June 30, 2005 the State presented the sworn statement given by Mr. Álvaro Raúl Cerrato Arias, proposed as a witness by the State, since his appearance before this Court was not possible. 27. On July 29, 2005 the Commission and the representatives presented their final written arguments. The representatives enclosed several annexes. 28. On August 16, 2005 the State presented its brief of final written arguments. This presentation was time-barred, since the period to do so had expired on July 29, 2005. 29. On October 6, 2005 the Secretariat, following the President’s instructions, required that the Commission, the representatives, and the State present different documents as evidence to facilitate adjudication of the case, pursuant to Article 45 of the Rules of Procedure. 30. On October 24, 2005 the representatives presented the majority of the documents requested as evidence to facilitate adjudication of the case. On October 27, 2005 the Commission informed the Court that it had understood that the representatives of the alleged victim would present the evidentiary elements required by the Tribunal and that it remained at the Court’s disposition if the presentation of any element were to remain pending. On November 4, 2005 the State presented part of the documents requested as evidence to facilitate adjudication of the case. 31. On November 4, 2005 the Secretariat, following the President’s instructions and pursuant to Article 45 of the Rules of Procedure, requested that the Commission, the representatives, and the State present several documents as evidence to facilitate adjudication of the case. On that same date the State forwarded several documents requested as evidence to facilitate adjudication of the case. 32. On November 10 and 11, 2005 the representatives and the Commission referred to the evidence requested to facilitate adjudication of the case. On November 16, 2005 it reiterated to the State the petition of the evidence to facilitate adjudication of the case. On November 24, 2005 the State forwarded the evidence to facilitate adjudication of the case.