on Labour Relations (Public Service), 1978.9 Article 9 of the Convention recognizes the civil and political rights of public employees and indicates that: “Public employees shall have, as other workers, the civil and political rights which are essential for the normal exercise of freedom of association, subject only to the obligations arising from their status and the nature of their functions.” Also, Article 8 of this Convention establishes that the settlement of disputes, “shall be sought, as may be appropriate to national conditions, through negotiation between the parties or through independent and impartial machinery, such as mediation, conciliation and arbitration, established in such a manner as to ensure the confidence of the parties involved.” 26. With regard to the instant case, Mr. Casa Nina, as a prosecutor which is a public official, also receives a protection of labor law in the exercise of his functions, and the analysis made in the judgment is appropriate. Taking into account the provisions of Convention No. 151, it is important to emphasize the protection of the civil and political rights of public officials and the recommendation as regards the settlement of disputes concerning working conditions or the permanence in office using systems of collective bargaining or others such as mediation. Owing to his dual condition as a public official and a prosecutor, the victim enjoyed the essential legal protection to be able to exercise his functions with independence, a guarantee that is intrinsically related to the democratic rule of law. 27. The foregoing is complemented by the United Nations “Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors” mentioned in the judgment, which establish the status and conditions of services of those who are appointed as prosecutors, establishing that “States shall ensure that prosecutors are able to perform their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment, improper interference or unjustified exposure to civil, penal or other liability."10 The principle of independence of the public functions of the prosecutor may also be interpreted based on the “Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary” adopted by the Seventh United Nations Congress held in Milan from August 26 to September 6, 1985.11 IV. 28. Conclusion The Court should not lose sight of the fact that its primary function is to hear cases that require the interpretation and application of the provisions of the Convention when these are submitted to it in order to decide whether there has been a violation of a protected right or freedom, and to rule that the injured party should be ensured the enjoyment of his violated right or freedom. In this regard, the Court has a vocation to do justice in concrete cases within the limits established by the law of treaties. But it also has a function of contributing to achieve the purposes of the Convention and that entails responding to the problems from which our societies suffer. It is important to consider that the Court’s legitimacy is founded on the solidity of its reasoning, on its compliance with the law and on the prudence of its rulings. 9 International Labour Organization. Convention 151 on Labour Relations (Public Service), 1978. Available at https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C151. 10 Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors. Adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Havana, Cuba, August 27 to September 7, 1990. UN Doc. A/CONF.144/28/Rev.1, para. 4. https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/roleofprosecutors.aspx. 11 “Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary,” available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/ professionalinterest/pages/independencejudiciary.aspx.

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