October 2008 have been violated. This is impossible due to the principle of non-retroactivity of law, as the plaintiff was sanctioned before the rights in question were even established.58 VIII MERITS 60. This case concerns the alleged international responsibility of the Ecuadorian State for a series of human rights violations that were allegedly committed in the context of the disciplinary process that led to the dismissal of Víctor Henrry Mina Cuero from his position as a police officer. To make the substantive analysis, the Court shall proceed in the following order: a) rights to judicial guarantees; (b) political rights; (c) the right to judicial protection, and (d) right to work, in relation to the obligations to respect and guarantee these rights. The Court clarifies that it restricts its analysis to the alleged conventional guarantees and their level of compliance by the State. It should not be interpreted that the determinations made by the Court in this regard relate to the certainty or uncertainty of the facts that gave rise to the disciplinary process. Such matters are not within the scope of this proceeding. In this regard, the Court reminds States that they must carry out disciplinary proceedings that may even result in the dismissal of police officers from their positions if they fail to fulfill their duties,59 provided that they guarantee the rights established in the American Convention and international standards in this regard. VIII.1 RIGHT TO JUDICIAL GUARANTEES, IN RELATION TO THE OBLIGATIONS TO RESPECT AND ENSURE RIGHTS AND TO ADOPT DOMESTIC LEGAL PROVISIONS60 61. The Court will proceed to study the issues raised by the Commission and the parties regarding the alleged human rights violations within the framework of the disciplinary process to which the alleged victim was subjected. A. Arguments of the Commission and of the parties A.1. Right to prior and detailed notice of the accusation, to adequate time and facilities for the preparation of the defense and to be assisted by a defense attorney of his choice 62. The Commission argued that the State did not refute, by providing written notification, Mr. Mina Cuero's claim that he was not formally notified of the initiation of the investigation 58 Cf. Resolution of January 25, 2011, issued by the Single Chamber of the Provincial Court of Esmeralda, case file No. 28,740 (case file of evidence, volume IV, annex 5.11 to the answering brief, pages 1835 to 1840). 59 Cf. Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held in Havana, Cuba, from August 27 to September 7, 1990, Principle No. 22, available at: https://www.ohchr.org/es/instrumentsmechanisms/instruments/basic-principles-use-force-and-firearms-law-enforcement, and Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in its Resolution 34/169 of December 17, 1979, Article 8, available at: https://www.ohchr.org/es/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/code-conduct-lawenforcementofficials#:~:text=Ning%C3%BAn%20funcionario%20encargado%20de%20hacer,amenaza%20a%20la%20segurid ad%20nacional%2C. See also the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), The Integrity and Accountability of the Police: The Criminal Justice Assessment Toolkit United States of America, 2010, pp. 8 and 9, https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prisonavailable at: reform/crimeprevention/The_Integrity_and_Accountability_of_the_Police_Spanish.pdf, and Council of Europe, Recommendation No. Rec. (2001) 10 of the Committee of Ministers of the Member States on the European Code of https://www.netpol.es/blog/wpPolice Ethics, adopted on September 19, 2001, available at: content/uploads/2018/07/C%C3%B3digo-Europeo-de-%C3%89tica-de-la-Polic%C3%ADa.pdf. 60 Articles 8 and 9 of the American Convention, in relation to articles 1(1) and 2 of the same instrument.