68 may lead to the dismissal of a judge or magistrate must be spelled clearly and precisely in a pre-existing law.305 226. The Constitution of the Republic of Honduras, adopted after democracy was restored in 1982, prohibits judicial officials from participating in “partisan activities”. The relevant part of Article 319 of the Constitution reads as follows: Judicial officials and auxiliary personnel in the Judicial Branch in the jurisdictional and administrative areas shall not take part for any reason in partisan political activities of any kind, except to cast their personal vote. Nor may they unionize or go on strike. [Emphasis added] 227. This constitutional prohibition, however, is expressed differently in the law: on the one hand, Article 49 of the Judicial Career Service Act, in force since 1973, provides that judicial officials shall not “be active members of Political Parties, [and] take part in electoral debates”; on the other hand, Article 3(6) of the Law on the Organization, Functions and Authorities of the Courts, adopted in 1936, states that judicial authorities shall not, inter alia: ”take part in political meetings, demonstrations or other acts, although the rest of the citizenry may take part in those activities.” [Italics added]. 228. As previously observed, the grounds for removing judges from office set forth in the Constitution, are expressed in more or less general and abstract terms. It is legislation that must fashion the constitutional principles into clear and precise laws spelling out the prohibited conduct. This does not mean that such provisions must be crafted with absolute precision; however, they should allow one to foresee what the penalty will be and be straightforward enough as to prevent any arbitrary interpretation on the part of the authority charged with enforcing them. 229. In the present case it is difficult to determine, with the certainty that strict legality demands, what the specific unlawful conduct is; in other words, what conduct on the part of Honduran judges does the law prohibit with respect to their participation in public demonstrations. While the constitutional clause prohibits judicial officials from engaging in any type of “partisan” activities, Article 49 of the Judicial Career Service Act prohibits active participation in political parties, whereas the broad language of Article 3 of the Law on the Organization, Functions and Authorities of the Courts appears to be an outright ban on judicial officials’ exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and assembly on matters of general interest, which goes far beyond the ban contained in the Constitution. 230. In effect, from a reading of Article 3(6) of the Law on the Organization, Functions and Authorities of the Courts as grounds for removal of Judge López Lone, and judging by its interpretation by the SCJ and the Judicial Career Council, it is apparent that this provision is not a law that can instruct 305 I/A Court H.R. Compulsory Membership in an Association Prescribed by Law for the Practice of Journalism (Arts. 13 and 29 American Convention on Human Rights). Advisory Opinion OC-5/85 of November 13, 1985. Series A No. 5, paragraphs 39-40; I/A Court H.R. Case of Palamara Iribarne v. Chile. Judgment of November 22, 2005. Series C No. 135, paragraph 79; I/A Court H.R. Case of Herrera Ulloa v. Costa Rica. Judgment of July 2, 2004. Series C No. 107, paragraph 120; I/A Court H.R. Case of Tristán Donoso v. Panama. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of January 27, 2009 Series C No. 193, paragraph 117; IACHR. Annual Report 1994. Chapter V: Report on the Compatibility of the Desacato Laws with the American Convention on Human Rights. Title IV. OEA/Ser. L/V/II.88. doc. 9 rev., February 17, 1995; IACHR. Report No. 11/96. Case No. 11.230. Francisco Martorell. Chile. May 3, 1996, paragraph 55; IACHR. Arguments to the Inter-American Court in the Case of Ricardo Canese v. Paraguay. Cited in: I/A Court H.R. Case of Ricardo Canese v. Paraguay. Judgment of August 31, 2004. Series C No. 111, Paragraph 72. a).