11 38. Article 51 of the Act guaranteed persons in the judicial public service the “right of tenure when they properly enter the service; they may only be removed for conduct constituting grounds for dismissal under the terms of the present Act and its Regulations.” 40 39. As for the authorities charged with administering the judicial career service in Honduras, Article 6 of the Judicial Career Service Act 41 provides that the judicial career service shall be administered by three organs: the Judicial Career Council, the Office of the Director of Personnel Management and the Personnel Selection Commission. Of these, the Judicial Career Council and the Office of the Director of Personnel Management participated in the disciplinary proceedings conducted against the alleged victims in this case. The Office of the Inspector General of Courts and Tribunals participated in the initial phase. 40. In the case of the Judicial Career Council, Article 7 of the Judicial Career Service Act provides that the Council “shall be under the SCJ”; under Article 8 of the Act, the Council’s main function is to “assist the SCJ with the policy of personnel management and to resolve any disputes that may arise as a result of the enforcement of this Act and its Regulations.” Under Article 8 of the Judicial Career Act, the Judicial Career Council shall have five permanent members and three alternates, who shall be selected from a list of ten candidates nominated by the Chief Justice of the SCJ. Two of the five permanent members shall be justices on the SCJ; as for the other three permanent members, one is to be an appellate court judge, the second a professional judge and the third a member of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The alternates shall be appointed by the Court. The members of the Council shall serve three-year terms. The senior-most Justice on the Supreme Council appointed to the Council shall be its Chair.” 41. Article 9 of the Judicial Career Service Act lists the following among the functions of the Judicial Career Council: “e) to take cognizance of and decide: 1. Any problems, disputes and claims that arise in the area of personnel management and those that arise between management and staff as a result of the enforcement of this Act. 2. Any admissible appeals filed to challenge decisions of the Office of the Director of Personnel Management. 42. As for the Office of the Director of Personnel Management, Article 10 of the Act provides that this Office is the executive body charged with the Act’s enforcement and that its Director shall be named by the SCJ from a slate of three candidates that the Chief Justice of the SCJ would nominate. The functions and authorities of the Office of the Director of Personnel Management include, inter alia, analyzing and classifying posts and salaries, preparing a remunerations plan and instructive handbooks for the posts, holding the competitions and exams necessary to select personnel, coordinating training programs, establishing systems to evaluate services, preparing a preliminary budget proposal and the annual report of the Judicial Branch. 40 Annex 12. Military Governing Junta, Council of Ministers, Degree No. 953, Judicial Career Service Act, August 4, 1998. Attachment to the State’s communication of October 14, 2010 41 Annex 12. Military Governing Junta, Council of Ministers, Degree No. 953, Judicial Career Service Act, August 4, 1998. Attachment to the State’s communication of October 14, 2010