38
149. In the instant case, from the facts proven it was shown that the Judge of Law who
handed down the judgment against Mr. Flor had been involved in an initial phase of the investigation
process, when in his capacity as Zone Commander, one month before he issued that decision, it was he
who had required Mr. Flor to hand over his responsibilities and his room in light of the investigation that
was being carried out concerning him. In this regard, the IACHR considers that the decision of the court
of law was influenced by the judge having had a preconceived notion of the matter in relation to Mr.
Flor’s liability.
150. Based on the foregoing considerations, and mindful of the nature of the decision
reached by the Court of Law and the importance of that decision on the imposition of the sanction of
discharge to Homero Flor, the Commission considers that the guarantee of impartiality was violated and
that accordingly there was a violation of Article 8(1) of the American Convention in relation to the right
of every person to be heard by an impartial judge or court.
d.
Alleged failure to set forth the reasoning of the decision
151. In this respect, the Commission takes into account that the duty to set forth the
reasoning is included in the framework of the “due guarantees” established in Article 8(1) of the
American Convention, and based on which it is demanded that the decisions reached by domestic
organs must state their grounds as a guarantee that the parties involved have been duly heard and that
if appealable, that they can have “such decision reviewed by an appellate body,”139 so that those
decisions do not turn out to be arbitrary, especially when they result in the impairment of fundamental
rights.140 The Inter-American Court has indicated that the grounds are “the exteriorization of the
reasoned justification that allows a conclusion to be reached.”141
152. The Inter-American Court has developed standards on this aspect following the case-law
of the European Court, which has indicated that Article 6 of the European Convention requires domestic
courts to state the reasoning of their judgments, yet it cannot necessarily be understood as an
obligation to give a detailed response to each of the arguments raised by the parties; rather one should
analyze the various arguments put forth before the decision-making body and the domestic legislation,
among other considerations, in each specific case, mindful of the nature of the decision.142 In particular,
the Inter-American Court has recognized this obligation vis-à-vis the decisions made by military organs,
for example in cases referring to the denial of a promotion of an Army officer, by a resolution of the
139
I/A Court H.R. Case of Apitz Barbera et al. (“First Court of Administrative Disputes”) v. Venezuela. Preliminary
Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of August 5, 2008, para. 78; I/A Court H.R. Case of Tristán Donoso v.
Panama. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of January 27, 2009. Series C. No. 193, para. 153; I/A
Court H.R. Case of Chocrón Chocrón v. Venezuela. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of July 1,
2011. Series C. No. 227, para. 118.
140
I/A Court H.R. Yatama Case v. Nicaragua. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of June
23, 2005. Series C. No. 127, para. 152; I/A Court H.R. Case of López Mendoza v. Venezuela. Merits, Reparations and Costs.
Judgment of September 1, 2011. Series C. No. 233, para. 141.
141
I/A Court H.R. Case of Apitz Barbera et al. (“First Court of Administrative Disputes”) v. Venezuela. Preliminary
Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of August 5, 2008, para. 77.
142
European Court of Human Rights, Case of Hiro Balani v. Spain. Judgment of December 9, 1994, para. 27; European
Court of Human Rights, Case of Hurk v. Netherlands. Judgment of April 19, 1994, para. 61.