unsubstantiated.”26 Nevertheless, the Court concluded that “the CNM assessed the gravity of
the judge’s conduct; that is, he adopted an irrational decision, as well as its impact on the
judicial function. Based on this assessment, it proceeded to adopt the decision of dismissal,”27
and that “[t]he report prepared by the disciplinary authority reveals the reasons that led the
CNM to determine that Mr. Cordero Bernal’s conduct was not only serious, but also
compromised the dignity of the office, and devalued it in the opinion of the public, because it
was irrational and had public impact.”28
31.
On this point, the considerations in the case of López Lone et al. should be recalled
regarding the fact that, in the presence of indeterminate disciplinary offenses and in the
absence of norms that develop objective criteria, the statement of reasons – which, from my
perspective is reflected in the clear and detailed arguments and reasonings – has special
relevance in relation to the obligation of the disciplinary body to indicate how the conduct
matches or is circumscribed by the indeterminate elements established in the open
disciplinary offense (which, in this case, were the three established in article 31.2 of the LOC,
supra para. 24); because, in addition to the fact that these indeterminate elements should
have been developed previously by law or interpretation, that normative or interpretive
development should be present in the disciplinary body’s statement of reasons.
32.
According to the majority opinion, “the Investigation Report and the decisions of the
OCMA (Office for Control of Judges) and the CNM describe in detail the irregularities in which
Mr. Cordero Bernal allegedly incurred,”29 and, therefore, “the CNM’s decision was duly
substantiated and was not arbitrary.”30 However, I must underline that, although the
Investigation Report and the decisions of the OCMA and the CNM describe the acts and
omissions of Mr. Cordero Bernal when adopting his decision and classify them “as serious,” it
should not be overlooked that the three decisions merely give an account of the facts that
originated Judge Cordero Bernal’s decision without explaining sufficiently the relationship
between the acts and the norm indicated (in particular the decision of the National Council of
the Judiciary in its tenth consideration).31 I therefore transcribe some of the pertinent parts
of the Investigation Report and of the two decisions in the disciplinary proceedings against
Mr. Cordero Bernal.
33.
First, the Investigation Report of July 21, 1995, considers:
I) […] it is validly concluded that, by granting unconditional release to the drug-traffickers, Hector
Cordero Bernal […] has not only seriously compromised the respectability of the Judiciary, but also the
corresponding legal time frame, and not assessing] all the evidence,” this revealed the judge’s misconduct because
they were considered irregularities, and (v) “[i]n the opinion of the CNM that conduct was serious and compromised
the dignity of the office because it had no rational legal support, which was the minimum requirement for any
jurisdictional decision.” Cf. Case of Cordero Bernal v. Peru. Preliminary objection and merits. Judgment of February
16, 2021. Series C No. 421, paras. 84, 85 and 86.
Cf. Case of Cordero Bernal v. Peru. Preliminary objection and merits. Judgment of February 16, 2021. Series
C No. 421, para. 88.
26
Cf. Case of Cordero Bernal v. Peru. Preliminary objection and merits. Judgment of February 16, 2021. Series
C No. 421, para. 86.
27
Cf. Case of Cordero Bernal v. Peru. Preliminary objection and merits. Judgment of February 16, 2021. Series
C No. 421, para. 87.
28
Cf. Case of Cordero Bernal v. Peru. Preliminary objection and merits. Judgment of February 16, 2021. Series
C No. 421, para. 86.
29
Cf. Case of Cordero Bernal v. Peru. Preliminary objection and merits. Judgment of February 16, 2021. Series
C No. 421, para. 89.
30
Cf. Mutatis mutandis, Case of López Lone et al. v. Honduras. Preliminary objection, merits, reparations and
costs. Judgment of October 5, 2015. Series C No. 302, para. 265
31
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