50 *** VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 8(2)(H) (RIGHT TO APPEAL THE JUDGMENT TO A HIGHER COURT) 157. Article 8(2)(h) of the Convention provides that: 2. Every person accused of a criminal offense has the right to be presumed innocent so long as his guilt has not been proven according to law. During the proceedings, every person is entitled, with full equality, to the following minimum guarantees: [...] h) the right to appeal the judgment to a higher court. 158. Arguments of the Commission: a) the right to appeal the judgment to a higher court, recognized in Article 8(2)(h) of the Convention, is an essential part of due process and “is non-derogable under Article 27(2)” thereof; and b) the right to appeal a judgment implies: a review of the facts of the case, a thorough examination of the trial, thereby giving the defendants genuine assurances that their case will be heard and their rights guaranteed in accordance with the principles established in Article 8 of the Convention. These requisites were not present in the instant case, with the result that Article 8, paragraph 2), letter h) of the Convention was violated. 159. Arguments of the State: a) during the proceedings conducted against the accused, “no formal complaint was filed charging the alleged procedural irregularity that purportedly violated the right” of the alleged victims. Quite the contrary, their defense attorneys availed themselves of the “principle of plural instances, filing appeals against the ruling of the judge of the Special Military Court of Inquiry, which were then decided by the higher court, i.e., the FAP Special Military Court; they even went so far as to file an appeal with the Supreme Court of Military Justice seeking to have the lower court ruling nullified;” b) the testimony of the defense lawyers proved nothing. Their clients not only had the guarantee of a court of review, but also even had access to a still higher court, a third instance. This would not have happened in the regular court system, which has only two instances: a lower court and a higher court; c) The judge of inquiry