that a similar plea was answered by the Political-Administrative Chamber to resolve the appeal filed by the victim (supra para. 63 and 85).” The Political-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Tribunal noted that "in terms of administrative responsibility, injury and guilt are not valued with the same rigor as in criminal law, and the mere establishment of fact enshrined in the law as unlawful or punishable is enough to verify the responsibility of public official.” In that sense, although the Chamber appreciates “that from the minutes of the administrative case file the need for justification regarding the approval of additional appropriations was evident, [...] the actions of both the Mayor of Chacao Municipality [...] as well as the Councilors who approved the appropriations with resources that came from Consignment No. 4.07.02.02.04, made them responsible 'objectively' as they were involved in the alleged conduct set out in paragraphs 21 and 22 of Article 91 of the [LOCGRSNCF].” Under the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, “despite the presumed intention of the municipal authorities of covering other expenses of the Municipality with the authorization of additional appropriations, the appellant diverted funds destined for the consignment corresponding to the transfer of funds to the Metropolitan District of Caracas.” 233 131. Moreover, in this case, the Court finds no sufficient evidence that would allow it to consider that the victim has been treated as guilty in the proceeding that resulting in the imposition of fines. Overall, the different levels of oversight, from the start of the proceedings, granted Mr. López Mendoza respect as if he was a person whose disciplinary responsibility was still pending a clear and sufficient determination. In the case of disciplinary conduct, the oversight bodies, through different phases, sought to assess the potential responsibility of Mr. López Mendoza in regard to the alleged administrative offenses. 132. Thus, the Court finds that there is no evidence that the State violated Article 8(1) of the Convention to the detriment of the victim, in relation to the presumption of innocence in proceedings against him which culminated in the determination of responsibility and fines. 133. Now, once the arguments have been assessed regarding the controversies that relate to the imposition of fines, the Court will consider the allegations made by the parties regarding the alleged violation of judicial guarantees in the early stages of the proceedings that ended in the sanctions of disqualification from public office. 2. Right to be heard, obligation to establish cause, and right to defense in relation to the restriction on the right to passive suffrage [stand in an election] 2.1. Arguments of the parties 134. The Commission argued that Mr. López Mendoza "was subjected, without legal notice, to the discretionary decision of an administrative authority [that] was empowered to impose at the moment it so decided, and without an established time limit, the [additional] sanctions as serious as political disqualification, without establishing the cause for such a decision [with additional arguments that support the implementation of a more onerous punishment than that of a fine and without defining the standards used 233 Judgment of August 5, 2008, of the Political-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Exp. No. 2005-5124) (case file of annexes to the answer to the application, tome XXXV, folios 12873 and 12874). 55

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