III. DETERMINATIONS OF FACT A. Applicable legal framework 24. The Commission notes that the alleged victims were subjected to impeachment proceedings based on the Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay, as well as the provisions of Senate Resolution 122, the most important regulations of which are indicated below. 25. sections: The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay establishes the following, in the pertinent Article 225. On Procedures. The President of the Republic, the Vice President, ministers of the Executive Branch, justices of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, the Public Defender, the Comptroller General of the Republic and Deputy Comptroller, and members of the Superior Electoral Court may be impeached only for improper performance of their duties (mal desempeño de sus funciones), for crimes committed in the exercise of their office, or for common crimes. The Chamber of Deputies, by a two-thirds majority, shall draw up the articles of impeachment. The Senate, by a two-thirds absolute majority, shall hold a public trial of those accused by the Chamber of Deputies and, if appropriate, shall declare them guilty for the sole purpose of removing them from office. In cases in which it appears that common crimes have been committed, the impeachment records shall be passed on to the ordinary justice system. Article 261. On the Removal and Cessation of Supreme Court Justices. Supreme Court justices may be removed only by means of impeachment. They must leave office upon reaching the age of 75. B. Concerning the alleged victims’ impeachment 1. Appointments of the alleged victims 26. As noted in his case file, Mr. Carlos Fernández Gadea was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court in April 1995. For his part, Mr. Bonifacio Ríos was designated a justice on May 6, 1999,3 and appointed chief justice on February 6, 2003,4 for the 2003-2004 period. According to the Constitution in effect at the time of the events in question, Supreme Court justices remained in their posts until the age of 75.5 2. Impeachment background 27. The IACHR notes that according to publicly available information, on August 15, 2003, Nicanor Duarte, upon taking office as president of the Republic of Paraguay, made a series of statements about the judicial branch, indicating that it was necessary to “pulverize the corrupt judiciary.”6 28. The Commission notes that in that context, on October 27, 2003, two justices of the Paraguayan Supreme Court resigned. In their resignation statements, one of them indicated that “after a series of negotiations among the presidents of the political parties, the list of justices who would be subjected to impeachment was made public. Even though several leaders of this negotiation process maintained that they will give us the opportunity to exercise the right to a defense in an impeachment trial, it must be considered Annex 1. Resolution No. 240 of the Senate by which Dr. Bonifacio Ríos Ávalos is designated justice of the Supreme Court. Annex to the Initial Petition of Bonifacio Ríos of November 9, 2003. 4 Annex 2. Court Order No. 276 of the Supreme Court by which Justice Bonifacio Ríos is named Chief Justice. Annex to the Initial Petition of Bonifacio Ríos of November 9, 2003. 5 Article 261 of the Paraguayan Constitution. 6 Annex 3. News story of September 8, 2003, titled “Reacciones encontradas en relación a “pulverizar al poder judicial corrupto” [“Mixed reactions to ‘pulverize the corrupt judiciary’”]. Annex to the Initial Petition of Bonifacio Ríos of November 9, 2003/ September 8, 2003, news story titled “Castiglioni apoya la “pulverización” [“Castiglioni supports ‘pulverization’”]. Annex to the Initial Petition of Bonifacio Ríos of November 9, 2003. 3 4