4 interposed by the Commission ought to pertain to the facts already contained in that complaint (par. 155). 13. It is likewise preserved the role of the Commission, as guardian of the Convention, which assists the Court in the contentieux under the Convention as defender of the public interest. In the present case, the discrepancy between the Commission and the petitioners did not have major practical consequences, as the Court did not find in the briefs elements of evidence which would allow it to pronounce on an eventual additional violation of the Convention (par. 157). Furthermore, by virtue of a principle of procedural law, widely supported in international case-law, the Court has the inherent power to examine, sponte sua, any additional violation of the Convention, even if not alleged in the complaint submitted by the Commission (jura novit curia), - as indicated in the present Judgment (par. 156) and as expressly and rightly admitted by the Commission itself (par. 150(h)). 14. The principle jura novit curia (which has been studied in the ambit of the most distinct branches of Law, including international law) inspires the exercise of the judicial function, and gives expression to the understanding that the Law is above what is alleged by the parties, it being incumbent upon the judicial authority to identify it and apply it to the cas d'espèce, it being entirely free to that end. The judicial authority, thus, is not limited by what is alleged by the parties, nor is there margin for the non liquet. The judicial authority ought to say what the Law is (jurisdictio, jus dicere) and give application to it, and to that effect - in compliance with its duty - it is entirely free. 15. In fact, the consideration of the principle of procedural law jura novit curia comes to stress the differentiated treatment dispensed to the factual and juridical elements, which has guided the criterion adopted by the Inter-American Court, in the present Judgment, on the question at issue. By virtue of that principle jura novit curia, the judicial authority, although circumscribed in its decision to the facts and evidences submitted in the judicial process, has, distinctly, as to the law, the facultad and the duty to go further than the allegations by the parties. It thus finds itself entitled to qualify autonomously the factual situation at issue, and to search, in the applicable legal order, for the pertinent provisions, even if they have not been invoked by the parties; that is, it is entitled to search freely for the legal norms to apply. 16. In any way, it is of importance the step forward taken by the Court in the present Judgment, leaning, as to the position of the individual petitioners, in favour of the thesis of substantive law. The Courte correctly sustains that the consideration which ought to prevail is that of the individuals being subjects of all the rights protected by the Convention, as the true substantive complaining party, and as subjects of the International Law of Human Rights. The Court has moved consciously in the right direction, in the exercise of a faculty which is inherent to it, and taking both the American Convention and its interna corporis as living instruments, which require an evolutive interpretation (as indicated in its jurisprudence constante)6, so as to fulfil the changing needs of protection of the human being. 6 . Cf., in this sense, the obiter dicta in: Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), Advisory Opinion OC-10/89, on the Interpretation of the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man in the Framework of Article 64 of the American Convention on Human Rights, of 14.07.1989, pars. 37-38; IACtHR, Advisory Opinion OC-16/99, on the Right to Information on Consular Assistance in the Framework of the Guarantees of the Due Process of Law, of 01.10.1999, pars. 114-115, and Concurring Opinion of Judge A.A. Cançado Trindade, pars. 9-11; IACtHR, case of the "Street Children" (Villagrán Morales and Others versus Guatemala), Judgment (on the merits) of 19.11.1999, pars. 193-194; IACtHR, case Cantoral Benavides versus