State of Guatemala. Guatemala is a free, independent, and sovereign state, organized to guarantee to its inhabitants the enjoyment of their rights and freedoms. Its system of government is republican, democratic, and representative. Sovereignty. Sovereignty arises from the people, who delegate it, for the exercise thereof, to the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. None of these may be subordinate to another. 30. The State indicates that, under Article 1 of the General Provisions of the Penal Code of Guatemala, a notary is considered a civil functionary (funcionario público), which is why this profession is reserved for Guatemalans. However, it makes clear that in Guatemala notaries are not members of the civil service, so that there is no relationship of job-related dependency with the State. 31. It indicates that in Guatemala the power to certify public documents with which notaries are vested is delegated by the State in exercise of its aforementioned sovereignty. This justifies the creation of a "notary" category of individuals in order to safeguard Guatemalan sovereignty. 32. It adds that, for this reason, Guatemalan law considers documents certified by notaries to be authentic and fully evidentiary, a presumption that is invalidated only when they are contested for nullity and fraud/forgery (falsedad), which can occur only through ordinary judicial proceedings for such purpose. The State points out that documents issued by other professionals in their fields of expertise are presumed authentic but do not have the authenticity of public documents with public faith. 33. It indicates that unlike the United States, which has adopted the common law notary system, Guatemala has adopted the civil law notary system in which a notary must be a lawyer or hold a law degree. The civil law notary writes the document, and this makes it authentic, veracious, and in some cases formal. Documents are presumed true. Admission to a professional legal association is mandatory, and the juristic act acquires formal validity by notarial act. In contrast, the State points out, in the other system no professional qualification is required, and there is no obstacle to exercising other professions. Veracity applies to signatures, not content, even if the contract is private. Documents are not presumed true. Admission to a professional legal association does not exist for notaries, and formal validity is conferred by judicial act. According to the State, the profession of notary in Guatemala is not comparable to other professions, whose practitioners may certify within their field of competence but who cannot therefore be considered to have been vested with public faith. 34. For its parts, the state indicates that notaries are not engaged in commerce and that, for this reason, they are not subject to legislation applicable to persons engaged in commerce, such as the most favored nation provision, which requires persons engaged in commerce in the countries members of the World trade Organization (WTO) to receive equal treatment. 35. The State therefore claims that Articles 6 and 7 of the Protocol of San Salvador have not been infringed. There is no violation of the right to work under just, equitable, and satisfactory conditions, since Mr. Hendrix can exercise the profession of lawyer without restriction. With respect to the profession of notary, it maintains that there is no injury to the exercise of his labor rights, since the remedy of naturalization is available. 36. Responding to the petitioner's arguments, the State asserts that the status of "active member notary is not an asset" of which a person can be deprived;