89 e. the inalienable right to be assisted by counsel provided by the state, paid or not as the domestic law provides, if the accused does not defend himself personally or engage his own counsel within the time period established by law; f. the right of the defense to examine witnesses present in the court and to obtain the appearance, as witnesses, of experts or other persons who may throw light on the facts; g. the right not to be compelled to be a witness against himself or to plead guilty; and h. 120. the right to appeal the judgment to a higher court. Article 25 of the Convention states that: 1. Everyone has the right to simple and prompt recourse, or any other effective recourse, to a competent court or tribunal for protection against acts that violate his fundamental rights recognized by the constitution or laws of the state concerned or by this Convention, even though such violation may have been committed by persons acting in the course of their official duties. 2. The States Parties undertake: a. to ensure that any person claiming such remedy shall have his rights determined by the competent authority provided for by the legal system of the state; b. to develop the possibilities of judicial remedy; and c. to ensure that the competent authorities shall enforce such remedies when granted. 121. Since both, administrative, and judicial proceedings were implemented in the instant case, they shall be analysed separately. A. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING 122. This Court must analyse first the realm of applicability of Law 25, in order to consider later whether or not the State violated Articles 8 and 25 of the American Convention. 123. It is evident that Law 25 does not refer to penal matters, since it does not characterise an offence nor does it sanction through the imposition of a punishment. Contrary to this, it deals with an administrative or labour relations matter. Therefore, the determination of the realm of influence of Article 8 of the Convention, in particular whether or not it is applied only to penal proceedings, corresponds to this Court. 124. Although Article 8 of the American Convention is entitled “Right to a Fair Trial,” its application is not limited to judicial remedies in a strict sense, “but [to] all the requirements that must be observed in the procedural stages,”(This translator's