-4I INTRODUCTION OF THE CASE AND PURPOSE OF THE DISPUTE 1. The case submitted to the Court. On March 17, 2014, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 51 and 61 of the American Convention and Article 35 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter-American Commission” or “the Commission”) submitted to the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court the case of Adán Guillermo López Lone et al. versus the Republic of Honduras (hereinafter “the State” or “Honduras”). According to the Commission, the case relates to the disciplinary proceedings to which Judges Adán Guillermo López Lone, Luis Alonso Chévez de la Rocha and Ramón Enrique Barrios Maldonado, and Justice Tirza del Carmen Flores Lanza were subjected in the context of the coup d’état that took place in Honduras in June 2009. The presumed victims were members of the “Asociación de Jueces por la Democracia” (Association of Judges for Democracy) which had issued various public communiqués calling the events relating to the removal of former President Zelaya a coup d’état, contrary to the official version of the Supreme Court of Justice indicating that it was a constitutional succession. According to the Commission, the disciplinary proceedings were instituted against the presumed victims to sanction their actions and statements against the coup d’état, but were beset “with numerous irregularities that affected due process.” In this context, the case relates to alleged violations of the rights to judicial guarantees, the principle of legality, freedom of expression, freedom of association, political rights, judicial protection, and the right of assembly of the presumed victims. 2. Procedure before the Commission. The procedure before the Commission was as follows: Petition. On July 6, 2010, the Association of Judges for Democracy (hereinafter “AJD”) and the Center for Justice and International Law (hereinafter “CEJIL”) lodged the initial petition. Admissibility Report. On March 31, 2011, the Commission adopted Admissibility Report No. 70/11.1 Report on the Merits. On November 5, 2013, the Commission adopted Merits Report No. 103/13, in which it reached a series of conclusions and made several recommendations to the State:  Conclusions. The Commission concluded that the State of Honduras was responsible for violating Articles 8, 9, 13, 16, 23 and 25 of the American Convention, in relation to Articles 1(1) and 2 of this instrument, to the detriment of Adán Guillermo López Lone, Ramón Enrique Barrios Maldonado, Luis Chévez de la Rocha and Tirza del Carmen Flores Lanza, and also for violating Article 15 of the Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) and 2 of the Convention, to the detriment of Guillermo López Lone.  Recommendations. Consequently, the recommendations to the State, namely: Commission made a series of i. Reinstate the victims in the Judiciary, in a post similar to the one they held, with the same salary and benefits, and at a similar level to the level they would have had currently if they had not been dismissed, for the time remaining in their term of office; alternatively, if, on reasonable grounds, it is not possible to reinstate them, the State must pay compensation. 1 In this report, the Commission decided “to combine the analysis of the requirement to exhaust domestic remedies with its consideration of the merits of the possible violation of Articles 8 and 25.” Admissibility Report No. 70/11, Case of López Lone et al. v. Honduras, March 31, 2011 (evidence file, folios 4577 and 4588).