aspects related to Article 8 of the Convention.” 99 Consequently, this should have provided
an additional incentive to rule on their merits, as it was also probable that the Judgment
would have autonomously declared the violation of the rights not analyzed.
81.
Similarly, the Judgment notes that “although it has already been stated that the
National Congress did not have jurisdiction to dismiss the Supreme Court judges from
office, bearing in mind that the State acknowledged this point and that it is one of the
guarantees established in Article 8(1) of the Convention, the Court shall proceed to analyze
it”. In other words, the Inter-American Court deemed it appropriate to analyze the right to a
hearing enshrined in that article of the Pact of San Jose but, by contrast, did not do so in
relation to other judicial guarantees contained in Article 8(2) thereof.
82.
In this case, precisely because the Judgment expressly described the resolution
adopted by the National Congress as “unacceptable” and an “abuse of power” 100, the InterAmerican Court should have ruled on the other arguments concerning the rights under
Article 8(2) of the Convention. It should also be recalled that in other cases where the
Inter-American Court has declared a specific violation, this has not prevented it from
considering it pertinent to specify other aspects of the State’s international responsibility
and, on occasion, to declare additional or complementary violations. 101 This was justified
taking into account the specificities of the case. Given the “untimely” dismissal of Ecuador’s
High Courts and its dramatic effects on the institutional facet of judicial independence
declared in the Judgment, I consider that the Inter-American Court should not have avoided
responding to those arguments related to conventional due process, involving the dismissal
of the Supreme Court justices, with special significance for the democracy defended by the
Inter-American System. 102
83.
The need for exhaustive arguments would have been especially relevant, since it was
highly probable that the Court would have reached a separate declaration on the violation of
these rights had these been considered. We must not forget, also, that the right to due
process is really comprised of a set of inseparable and requisite elements; 103 therefore
respect for these is inconceivable if they are not satisfied, fully and in their totality. In this
regard, the analysis of the other judicial guarantees allegedly violated, would have possibly
established more robust standards on due process for judges or magistrates, subjected to
99
Paragraph 20 of the Judgment.
100
Paragraph 177 of the Judgment.
101
In the Case of Kimel, the Inter-American Court issued a ruling on the proportionality of the restriction of
the victim’s freedom of expression. Although in its analysis of strict legality the Inter-American Court declared the
respective violation, it included an analysis of other components of the principle proportionality. Cf. Case of Kimel
v. Argentina. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of May 2, 2008 Series C No. 177, paras. 81-94. Also, in the
case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre, even though the Inter-American Court pointed out that the military criminal
courts did not have jurisdiction to hear the case, it nevertheless analyzed the fact that the military jurisdiction
failed to act with due diligence in the investigation. The Inter-American Court stated that the “few investigatory
actions, and the speed with which they were carried out, reflect little or no interest of the military criminal
jurisdiction in carrying out a serious and exhaustive investigation into the events that occurred.” It should be
emphasized that the Inter-American Court also analyzed the effectiveness of the intervention of other courts, such
as the disciplinary tribunal. Cf. Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre v. Colombia. Judgment of January 31, 2006.
Series C No. 140, paras. 192-204.
102
It should not be forgotten that the Preamble of the American Convention establishes its “intention to
consolidate in this hemisphere, within the framework of democratic institutions, a system of personal liberty and
social justice based on respect for the essential rights of man.”
103
Cf. García Ramírez, Sergio, El debido proceso. Criterios de la jurisprudencia interamericana, Mexico,
Porrúa, 2012, p. 23.
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