2. Considerations of the Court
98.
In this regard, the Court specifies that it is not a criminal court or a forum
appropriate for analyzing or determining criminal, administrative or disciplinary
responsibility of individuals,206 and that it does not have jurisdiction to do this. As a
consequence, the Court will not declare wither Mr. López Mendoza is guilty or innocent
regarding the irregular actions for which he was sentenced, given that this is a matter for
the Venezuelan jurisdiction.
99.
The following will be analyzed: i) the right to be elected; ii) a fair trial [judicial
guarantees] in developed administrative procedures; iii) equality before the law, and iv)
the obligation to adopt of domestic legal effects.
A.
Right to be elected
100. The main point of this case lies in the sanctions of disqualification imposed on Mr.
López Mendoza by way of a decision of an administrative body, applying Article 105 of
the LOCGRSNCF, which prevented him from registering his candidacy for an elective
office. After outlining the arguments of the parties, the Court will determine whether such
sanctions and their effects on the alleged victim are compatible with the American
Convention.
1. Arguments of the parties
101. The Commission and the representatives argued that the sanction for
disqualification from holding public office unduly restricted the political rights of Mr. López
Mendoza, given that it was imposed by an administrative proceeding and not by
“sentencing by a competent court in criminal proceedings” as indicated in Article 23(2) of
the American Convention, in such a way that “only a criminal court in a criminal
proceeding can restrict the right” and “any restriction rendered from said proceeding
must strictly respect criminal guarantees.” He added that “the Comptroller General and
its respective agencies are not criminal judges or tribunals in a strict sense and its
decisions pertain to the administrative forum.” Moreover, it indicated that the alleged
victim "is subject to restrictions that prohibit his nomination and appointment to public
office, [in such a way that] when he tried to register to participate in elections for mayor
of the Metropolitan District of Caracas [...] his disqualification materialized.”
102. The representatives added that “Article 105 [of the LOCGRSNCF] has not been
able to establish political disqualification to hold public office by public vote, given that
pursuant to Article 30 of the American Convention the law can only develop restrictions
that are already authorized by the American Convention, and in this case, the only
authorized political disqualification is one that a competent court in a criminal proceeding
can establish.” Moreover, they expressed that “Article 105 is a restriction that is more
serious than those foreseen by the Convention” in violation of Article 29 of the American
Convention. In the specific case, the representatives argued that the “constitutional
provisions [particularly Articles 65 and 42] are clear and compatible with the American
Convention upon affirming that the criminal responsibility, due to the management of
206
Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez V. Honduras, supra note 15, para. 134; Case of Ibsen Cárdenas and
Ibsen Peña, supra note 19, para. 199, and Case of Vera Vera et al., supra note 13, para. 93
46
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