105 declarants whose affidavits would be covered by the Assistance Fund and requested that this information be provided as soon as possible. In a communication of December 24, 2014, the representatives requested that the Assistance Fund cover the costs of the affidavits of Zósimo Hilario Quispe, Marcelo Hilario Quispe and Gregorio Hilario Quispe, as well as the expert opinion of Miryam Rebeca Rivera Holguín. In a note dated January 9, 2015, the Secretariat reminded the representatives that that the necessary financial assistance would be granted for the formalization and sending of two statements rendered by affidavit. Therefore, following instructions of the President, it was decided that the financial assistance from the Assistance Fund would be used for the formalization of the affidavits of Zósimo Hilario Quispe and Marcelo Hilario Quispe. In a letter dated January 26, 2015, the representatives indicated that the affidavits of said persons were obtained free of charge; therefore, they requested that the amount set aside for their statements be assigned for the expert opinion provided by Miryam Rebeca Rivera Holguín. Through a note dated January 26, 2015, the Secretariat, following the instructions of the President of the Court, accepted said request. 353. On May 25, 2015, a report was sent to the State on the disbursements made in application of the Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund in the instant case, which amounted to USD $3,457.40 (three thousand, four hundred and fifty-seven United States dollars and forty cents) and, 385 in accordance with Article 5 of the Rules for the Operation of said Fund, a period was granted for Peru to submit any observations deemed pertinent. The State submitted its observations on June 1, 2015. 354. Peru argued that no document was presented to support the expenses of USD $697.00 and USD $687.00 for “per diem and transportation expenses” in favor of Mr. Zenón Cirilo Osnayo Tunque and Mr. José Pablo Baraybar Do Carmo, respectively, based on the per diem table of the Organization of American States (OAS) applicable to the city of San José, Costa Rica, in force as of January 2015, and that the mere presentation of Receipts No. 0008005 and No. 0008006 dated January 26, 2015 was not sufficient. It also emphasized that it is necessary to know the details of the expenses and their evidentiary support. With regard to Receipt No. 0008023 for transportation, lodging and food expenses in Peru for the transfer of Zenón Cirilo Osnayo Tunque from Lima to Huancavelica, totaling USD $ 41.78, the State held that said amount had no supporting documents to accredit it, and therefore it should not be included. The State also recalled that, before ordering a State to reimburse the Fund for the expenses incurred, the Court must determine that there were violations of the American Convention in the particular case which, in its opinion, did not occur in the instant case. 355. As for the State’s objections regarding the lack of documentation supporting the amounts paid for per diem and transportation expenses, the Court recalls that, in accordance with Article 6 of the Rules for the Operation of the Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund, “[t]he Court shall decide matters not governed by these Rules and questions regarding their interpretation.” On this point, since the Fund began operating, 386 the Court has established the policy of providing the persons covered by the Fund with a fixed per diem amount, which includes lodging and meals, based on the OAS per diem table in force and applicable to the city of San José, Costa Rica, without the need to present invoices to prove the expenses incurred. According to the OAS, this table reflects the amount that a person would reasonably spend on lodging and meals in that city. Furthermore, the procedure of requesting invoices from the beneficiaries of the Assistance Fund for the per diems received would present serious obstacles to the proper and expeditious administration of the Assistance Fund. It is also for this reason that, as far as terminal expenses are concerned, i.e., transportation expenses for travel to and from the point of origin and other incidental expenses, the Court only requires proof of expenses incurred from the point of origin to the seat of the Court Report on the Application of the Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund of May 25, 2015 (merits file, folios 1584 to 1628) The Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund was applied for the first time in the judgment in the case of Contreras et al. v. El Salvador, issued on August 31, 2011. 385 386