general and abstract mandates of the Convention into concrete and specific mandates
should be inserted. To this end, the respective judicial instance should not delegate to
others its authority to determine the said evolution and the current circumstances,
because, if it did, this would lead to assertions unrelated to the justice that it should
impart.
24. Moreover, when resorting to evolutive interpretation, the Court should take special care
not to devalue what was agreed on literally, leaving it without any practical usefulness,
and thus giving rise to legal uncertainty in the States Parties to the Convention and,
above all, doubts and fears about adhering to the Convention in those that have not
yet done so.
D. The instant case
25. In this regard, it should be recalled that the judgment indicates that the “Court
reaffirms its competence to examine and decide disputes relating to Article 26 of the
American Convention as an integral part of the rights listed in its text, regarding which
Article 1(1) establishes obligations of respect and guarantee,” 41 adding that “as
indicated in previous decisions,42 the considerations related to the possible occurrence
of such violations must be examined when analyzing the merits of the matter.”43
26. Since the judgment provides no other reason that the one briefly expressed above as
justification for this decision, it obliges me, in order to substantiate this dissenting
opinion, to resort to the considerations concerning that substantive part where, as we
shall see,44 it provides arguments to support the said decision it has adopted.
27. However, to do this, it is necessary to recall that, when alluding to the said Article 26,45
the judgment does so referring specifically to the right to work; in other words, it
Footnote to para. 26 of the judgment: Cf. Case of Acevedo Buendía et al. (“Discharged and Retired
Employees of the Comptroller’s Office”) v. Peru. Preliminary objection, merits, reparations and costs.
Judgment of July 1, 2009. Series C No. 198, paras. 16, 17 and 100; Case of Lagos del Campo v. Peru.
Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of August 31, 2017. Series C No. 340,
paras. 142 and 154; Case of the Discharged Employees of PetroPeru et al. v. Peru. Preliminary objections,
merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 23, 2017. Series C No. 344, para. 192; Case of San
Miguel Sosa et al. v. Venezuela. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of February 8, 2018. Series C
No. 348, para. 220; Case of Poblete Vilches et al. v. Chile. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of
March 8, 2018. Series C No. 349, para. 100; Case of Cuscul Pivaral et al. v. Guatemala. Preliminary
objection, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of August 23, 2018. Series C No. 359, paras. 75 to 97;
Case of Muelle Flores v. Peru. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of March 6,
2019. Series C No. 375, paras. 34 to 37; Case of the National Association of Discharged and Retired
Employees of the National Tax Administration Superintendence (ANCEJUB-SUNAT) v. Peru. Preliminary
objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 21, 2019. Series C No. 394, paras. 33
and 34; Case of Hernández v. Argentina. Preliminary objection, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment
of November 22, 2019. Series C No. 395, para. 62; Case of the Indigenous Communities of the Lhaka
Honhat (Our Land) Association v. Argentina. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of February 6, 2020.
Series C No. 400, para. 195; Case of Spoltore v. Argentina. Preliminary objection, merits, reparations and
costs. Judgment of June 9, 2020. Series C No. 404, para. 85, and Case of the Workers of the Fireworks
Factory of Santo Antônio de Jesus and their families v. Brazil. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations
and costs. Judgment of July 15, 2020. Series C No. 407, para. 23.
41
42
Footnote to para. 26: Cf. Case of Muelle Flores v. Peru, supra, para. 37, and Case of the Workers of the Fireworks Factory of Santo
Antônio de Jesus and their families v. Brazil.. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of July 15, 2020. Series
C No. 407, para. 23.
43
Para. 26.
44
Infra, paras. 55 and ff.
45
Hereinafter, Article 26.