taken by the National Congress could indeed have been understood as an “ad-hoc procedure of a punitive nature.” 69 58. Bearing in mind the foregoing, in its Judgment the Inter-American Court concluded that Congress was not authorized to dismiss the Supreme Court justices, given that the new Constitution had removed its power to do so. It also noted that a proceeding already existed which stipulated the process and grounds on which a judge could be dismissed. Thus, it determined that “it is evident that Congress was not the competent authority to decide on the dismissal of Supreme Court judges.” 70 Then, in order to determine the scope of the violations in this case, the Inter-American Court analyzed the aforementioned “ad-hoc” mechanism used by Congress to dismiss the judges. 71 59. The Inter-American Court subsequently determined that the judges were dismissed by means of a resolution of the National Congress, which lacked the proper jurisdiction to do so, through the erroneous and arbitrary application of a legal provision and without being granted the right to be heard. The resolution through which the judges were dismissed was the result of a political alliance that was intended to establish a Supreme Court sympathetic to the political majority at that time, and to impede criminal proceedings against the acting President and a former President. The Court confirmed that Congress’s resolution was not adopted by virtue of an exclusive assessment of specific factual evidence in order to ensure full compliance with the existing legislation, but that it pursued a completely different objective, related to the abuse of power. 72 60. Indeed, as stated in the Judgment, the main violations in this case were due to a totally unacceptable and untimely political action, 73 against a basic pillar of a democratic State governed by the rule of law, that is, against a truly independent Judiciary and Supreme Court of Justice. The action which undermined this essential principle of constitutional democracy, showed a disregard for all the manifestations of that independence and, therefore, for the principle of separation of the branches of government, which also forms the basis for the full protection of individual human rights. A single fact proven in this matter is sufficient to show Congress’s abuse of power: the fact that within a period of 14 days, it dismissed not only the Supreme Court, but also the Constitutional Tribunal and the Electoral Tribunal of Ecuador, as a consequence of the political and institutional context in this case, within a framework clearly contrary to the democratic rule of law. 61. This is the conclusion reached in the Judgment, to which this opinion refers. Thus, in paragraph 179, it cites Article 3 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, concluding that the dismissal of all the members of the Supreme Court of Justice implied the destabilization of the democratic order in Ecuador, because a rupture occurred in the separation and independence of the branches of government when an attack was made on the country’s three High Courts at that time. 62. However, I consider that the Judgment should have placed greater and more detailed emphasis on the antidemocratic attack proffered by the political powers against the Supreme Court of Justice in this case. Although the Inter-American Court declared the 69 Ibid. para. 13. 70 Ibid. para. 162. 71 Ibid. paras. 163 to 169. 72 Ibid. para. 177. 73 Ibid. para. 175. 14