4 IV PROCEEDING BEFORE THE COURT 13. On March 26, 2004, the Commission filed an application with the Court regarding the instant case. 14. The Commission appointed officer Susana Villarán de la Puente and Executive Secretary Santiago A. Canton as delegates, and Ariel Dulitzky, Verónica Gómez, Norma Colledani and Lilly Ching as legal counsels. 15. On April 21, 2004, the Secretariat, once the application had been examined by the President of the Court (hereinafter “the President”), served the application and its annexes on the State, and notified it of the term within which it was to answer the same and appoint its agents in the proceedings. Furthermore, the Secretariat, following instructions by the President, informed the State that it had the right to appoint an ad hoc Judge to participate in determining the case. 16. On that same day, in compliance with Article 35(1)(d) of the Rules of Procedure, the Secretariat served the application on the Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional and on the Colectivo de Abogados “José Alvear Restrepo” (Lawyers’ Group “José Alvear Restrepo”) (hereinafter “the Representatives”), appointed in the application as representatives of the alleged victim and his next of kin, and informed them that they had two months to file a brief with their requests, their arguments and their evidence. 17. On June 18, 2004, the State appointed Luz Marina Gil García and Luis Alfonso Novoa Díaz as agent and deputy agent, respectively, and Ernesto Rey Cantor as ad hoc Judge to participate in hearing the case. 18. On June 28, 2004, the Representatives filed their brief of requests, arguments and evidence (hereinafter “the brief of requests and arguments”). 19. On August 31, 2004, the State filed a brief with its preliminary objections, its answer to the application and its comments on the brief of requests and arguments. The preliminary objections raised by Colombia consisted of: 1) impairment of the State’s right to defend itself; and 2) failure to comply with the requirements for the exhaustion of domestic remedies. 20. On October 27, 2004, the Commission and the Representatives filed written arguments regarding the preliminary objections. 21. On February 1, 2005, the President issued an Order in which he required Kevin Daniel Gutiérrez-Niño, Yaqueline Reyes,1 Luisa Fernanda Gutiérrez-Reyes, Paula Camila Gutiérrez-Reyes, Leonardo Gutiérrez-Rubiano, Leydi Caterin GutiérrezPeña, Sulma Tatiana Gutiérrez-Rubiano, Ricardo Alberto Gutiérrez-Rubiano, Carlos Andrés Gutiérrez-Rubiano and María Elena Soler de Gutiérrez, witnesses proposed by the Representatives, to render testimony by affidavit. He also ordered Iván 1 In the application, this name appears as “Yaqueline Gutiérrez-Reyes”. However, as the birth certificate issued by the Registrar of Life Statistics reads “Yaqueline Reyes”, the Commission stated in its closing written arguments that it had incurred in a “material mistake” when identifying this person by the first-mentioned name. Thereafter, the Court used the second-mentioned name.