4 independence and the determination of the grounds for impeachment, in accordance with the standards established in the American Convention. With respect to the issues of inter-American public order that the case raises, the Commission notes that, specifically, the events occurred in a context characterized by the fragile state of the Judiciary, evidenced by the dismissal by the National Congress not only of the Constitutional Court, but also of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Electoral Court. These dismissals of Ecuador’s supreme courts were followed by the activation of mechanisms designed to prevent access to justice by the judicial officers affected. Therefore, the instant case incorporates analysis of the lack of clarity in procedures and grounds for the dismissal of judges under the principle of freedom from ex post facto laws set forth in Article 9 of the American Convention and constitutes an opportunity for the Court to develop its jurisprudence as regards the independence of the Judiciary, as well as standards of due process in impeachment proceedings, and the formulation of the grounds that may justify the removal of judges. Accordingly, the Court will be able to pronounce in greater depth on the judicial guarantees that should be established regarding the proceedings for the removal of judges. In that sense, the instant case will allow to establish principles that will contribute to the strengthen of the independence of the Judiciary in the democracies of the Hemisphere and will guide the improvement of the proceedings for the removal of judges, in particular, with respect to high Courts and in contexts of political controversies. Since these matters significantly affect the inter-American public order of human rights, pursuant to Article 35.1(f) of the Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American Court, the Commission asks the Court to incorporate in the case file, the expert paper of Param Cumaraswamy in the case Quintana Coello et. al v. Ecuador, and offers the following expert’s statement: 1. Leandro Despouy, who will analyze the guarantees of due process of law in impeachment proceedings and the limits of political review on the Judiciary, in particular, the formulation of the grounds for removal of judges. The expert will also refer to the obligation of establishing effective remedies for the judges to allege the illegality of their removal, in particular, judges from the high Courts. The curriculum vitae of the expert proposed by the Inter-American Commission will be included in the annexes to merits report 99/11. Finally, the name of the organization that served as petitioner in the case before the Commission and its particulars are as follows: Clínica de Derechos Humanos Facultad de Jurisprudencia Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador Representada por David Cordero Heredia y Ramiro Ávila Santamaría Bloque II, 5to Piso Av. 12 de Octubre s/n y Ladrón de Guevara Quito, Ecuador Xxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx Oswaldo Cevallos Buenos