ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to express our sincere gratitude to those who gave invaluable help and contributions during the updating and editing of this second edition: Santiago Medina Villarreal and Camilo Eduardo Umaña Hernández for their comments and suggestions based on their extensive knowledge of the System; Carolina Bárbara and Mario López-Garelli for their support in clarifying questions about the functionning of the Inter-American Commission; Joanne Hutchinson for the translation from the original edition in Spanish and for the editing of the English version; Emma Hunter, Marta Font and Christopher Keeler for their editorial and proofreading assistance; Marina Gente and Anne-Laurence Lacroix for their support. In the writing and editing of the first edition, we would like to sincerely recognize and thank the support provided by Boris Wijkström (main editor), Leonor Vilás Costa (editor and translator of Spanish Handbook), Aubra Fletcher, Victoria Lee, Jessica Farb, Calderón, Matías Hernández and Shazia Anwar (editorial assistance); Vénus Maroun, Vanessa Kerampran, Dagmar Fernández, Brianna Busch, Barbara Weinschelbaum and Beatriz Fernandez Carrillo (research assistance); Beatriz Affonso and Rita Freund (skilled in the functioning of the Inter-American System of Human Rights). DISCLAIMER The views expressed in this book are solely those of the authors and do not represent those of any other institution. 5