18,000 inhabitants 392 and approximately 300 of them were members of the said Italian Association. 393 In addition, it was necessary to take into consideration that the said facts referred to the illegal contracts for burial niches in the town’s Municipal Cemetery. Therefore, logically, it can be concluded that it is evident that a significant proportion of the population to whom the said publications were addressed had a legitimate interest in knowing the information they contained, because not only did it concern them, but also it referred to public or community property, in itself very relevant for their history and their cultural identity. Consequently, there is no doubt that this information transcended the said Association and, hence, was of patent or significant public interest, 394 particularly as it also represented personal information disseminated by the journalist Pablo Mémoli; in other words, that concerned him. On the same basis, in the instant case, the considerations of the Court in another case are fully applicable, to the effect that “[i]n the domain of political debate on issues of great public interest, not only is the expression of statements which are well received by public opinion and those which are deemed to be harmless protected, but also the expression of statements which shock, irritate or disturb public officials or any sector of society. 395 In a democratic society, the press must inform extensively on issues of public interest which affect social rights, … .” 396 II. PRINCIPLE OF LEGALITY AND OF RETROACTIVITY A. The dissent Now, in this opinion there is also a discrepancy with the decision adopted in the Judgment that, in this case, the principle of legality and retroactivity established in Article 9 of the Convention 397 has not been violated. This decision was based, on the one hand, on the fact that, having found that Messrs. Mémoli’s statements did not refer to matters of public interest, the decriminalization of this type of expression established in the amendment to the definition of the offense of defamation would not apply to them 398 and, on the other hand, that, in the opinion of the competent Appellate and Criminal Guarantees Chamber, the criminal conviction imposed on 392 In 1991, San Andrés de Giles had 18,260 in habitants. Cf. Giles census data, La Libertad, May 28, 1991 (file of annexes to the Stat’s final arguments, folio 3860). 393 According to the National Mutual Action Institute, the Italian Association had 292 members at May 11, 1990. Cf. Report of the National Mutual Action Institute in relation to case file No. 160/90 (file of annexes to the Stat’s final arguments, folio 3901). 394 Para. 146 of the Judgment. 395 Cf. Case of “The Last Temptation of Christ” (Olmedo Bustos et al.) v. Chile, supra, para. 69; Case of Ivcher Bronstein v. Peru, supra, para. 152, and Case of Ricardo Canese v. Paraguay, supra, para. 83. 396 Case of Kimel v. Argentina, supra, para. 88. 397 Article 9 of the Convention stipulates that: “[n]o one shall be convicted of any act or omission that did not constitute a criminal offense, under the applicable law, at the time it was committed. A heavier penalty shall not be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the criminal offense was committed. If subsequent to the commission of the offense the law provides for the imposition of a lighter punishment, the guilty person shall benefit therefrom.” 398 Paras. 91 and 92 of the Judgment. 9