established the regulations for the applicable procedure beforehand, as well as the alleged
violation of the rights to be heard and of defense, and the right to a duly reasoned decision
and the principle of legality.
134. The Court also notes that, despite the explicit prohibition contained in article 2 of Senate
Resolution No. 122 that its decisions could “not be subject to any type of appeal,” Messrs.
Ríos Ávalos and Fernández Gadea filed several actions of unconstitutionality to claim judicial
protection of their rights. Consequently, the presumed victims were able to argue their claims
for protection in relation to the impeachment proceedings and the decision to remove them
from office by filing judicial actions that, ultimately, were heard and decided by the competent
authority. Therefore, the Court finds it unnecessary to examine the arguments concerning
Article 8(2)(h) of the Convention, Rather, in light of what happened in this specific case, the
respective analysis must be made with regard to the alleged violation of the right to judicial
protection (infra paras. 145 and ff.).
B.3.3. Alleged violation of the protection of honor and dignity, and equality
before the law
135. The Court recalls that the presumed victims’ representatives are authorized to cite rights
other than those indicated by the Commission because the presumed victims are entitled to
all the rights established in the American Convention. Therefore, denying them this authority
would mean an undue restriction of their condition as subjects of international human rights
law. However, case law has requires that such arguments be based on the factual framework
established in the Merits Report.147
136. With regard to the allegation of the violation of the right to protection of honor and
dignity, the representatives argued that the impeachment proceedings “created a negative
image [of the presumed victims], especially in judicial and social circles,” and “accusations
[against them were even] published in all the media.” These arguments correspond to facts
that were not included in the Commission’s Merits Report and, consequently, they do not form
part of the dispute that this Court is called on to decide because to do so would involve a
violation of the procedural guarantees of the parties in the context of these proceedings. Since
the allusion to opinions expressed outside the context of the impeachment proceedings
exceeds the factual framework of this case, it is not in order to make the requested analysis.
137. The representatives also indicated that the alleged violation stemmed from the suffering
caused to the presumed victims, at both a personal and a family level, by the impeachment
proceedings and the investigation undertaken after the complaints against them had been
forwarded to the criminal jurisdiction. Therefore, the Court notes that the arguments relate to
the eventual harm allegedly caused to the presumed victims, a matter that forms part of the
analysis of reparations. It should be added that the representatives reiterated these
arguments precisely with regard to their claims for reparation. Consequently, the Court
considers that it is not appropriate to make the requested analysis in relation to the violation
of the right to protection of honor and dignity.
138. In the case of the alleged violation of Article 24 of the Convention, which establishes the
right to equality before the law, the representatives argued that the presumed victims had
been discriminated against “for political reasons.” They argued that this violation had occurred
because the impeachment proceedings and the subsequent dismissal were based on judicial
decisions that had also been signed by other justices of the Supreme Court of Justice, who
Cf. Case of the “Five Pensioners” v. Peru. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of February 28, 2003. Series
C No. 98, para. 155; Case of Casa Nina v. Peru, supra, para. 26, and Case of Moya Solís v. Peru, supra, para. 32.
147
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