CONCURRING OPINION OF JUDGE EDUARDO VIO GROSSI CASE OF LÓPEZ MENDOZA v. VENEZUELA, JUDGMENT OF SEPTEMBER 1, 2011 (MERITS, REPARATIONS, AND COSTS) Introduction. I render this concurring opinion with that decided in Judgment stated in the title, hereinafter the Judgment, and in particular Declarative Paragraph, N°1 and in Deciding Paragraph N°s 2, 3, and 5, all of the Judgment’s Operative Paragraphs,1 in order to highlight, first, that from its mere reading, it is evident that Article 23(2) of the American Convention on Human Rights, hereinafter the Convention,2 is clear, simple, and categorical, specifically in what in regards orders, namely, that “the exercise of the rights and opportunities referred” in numeral 1 of said Article, particularly that which refers to the right to “be elected(… ),”3 can be regulated “only” by, among others, “sentencing by a competent court in criminal proceedings.” Second, with this concurring vote, it is my attempt to call attention to that strictly pertaining to the law, specifically, Public International Law,4 which is the nature of this Judgment, considering that the result confronted5 by that provided in Article 23(2) of the Convention both with the Resolutions of the Comptroller General of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, hereinafter the State,6 which imposed upon Mr. Lopez Mendoza the sanction of disqualification from holding public office, as well as that enshrined in Article 105 of the Organic Law of the Comptroller General of the Republic and the National System of Fiscal Oversight, hereinafter the LOCGRSNCF, of the State,7 and the amparo to which these rendered decisions, was achieved by applying objective and teleological methods of interpretation referred to in the Vienna Convention on the Law 1 See paragraph 249 of this Judgment.. 2 “The law may regulate the exercise of the rights and opportunities referred to in the preceding paragraph only on the basis of age, nationality, residence, language, education, civil and mental capacity, or sentencing by a competent court in criminal proceedings.” 3 “Every citizen shall enjoy the following rights and opportunities: a). to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; b). to vote and to be elected in genuine periodic elections, which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and by secret ballot that guarantees the free expression of the will of the voters; and c). to have access, under general conditions of equality, to the public service of his country.” 4 Article 3 of the Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, adopted by the International Law Commission (ILC) of the United Nations (UN): ”The characterization of an act of a State as internationally wrongful is governed by international law. Such characterization is not affected by the characterization of the same act as lawful by internal law.” 5 ”The jurisdiction of the Court shall comprise all cases concerning the interpretation and application of the provisions of this Convention that are submitted to it, provided that the States Parties to the case recognize or have recognized such jurisdiction, whether by special declaration pursuant to the preceding paragraphs, or by a special agreement.” 6 See paragraphs 58 and 81 of this Judgment. 7 See paragraph 33 of this Judgment.