5 the States. 20 In this regard, the Court, as an institution of public law, can only do what the law allows it to do. Finally, it is pertinent to emphasize that the Court’s role is conditioned not only by the principles that should inspire any court, such as impartiality, independence, objectivity and procedural equality of the parties, but also and more fundamentally by the imperative of acting with full awareness that, as an autonomous and independent entity, there is no superior authority that controls it. This means that, true to the important role assigned to it, it must strictly respect the limits of this role, and remain and evolve within the sphere inherent to a jurisdictional entity. ii. Nature of the Court’s jurisprudence Since the Court is a judicial body created by the Convention precisely to apply and interpret it in the cases submitted to it, the binding force of its judgments is determined by the provisions of said treaty. And to this effect, the only provision of the Convention in this regard is the commitment of the States to comply with the judgments issued by the Court in cases to which they are parties. 21 It must be concluded, therefore, that the Convention has not strayed from the general rule of international law that the Court’s judgments are binding only on such States 22 and that it is an Art. 76: “1. Proposals to amend this Convention may be submitted to the General Assembly for the action it deems appropriate by any State Party directly, and by the Commission or the Court through the Secretary General. 2. Amendments shall enter into force for the States ratifying them on the date when two-thirds of the States Parties to this Convention have deposited their respective instruments of ratification. With respect to the other States Parties, the amendments shall enter into force on the dates on which they deposit their respective instruments of ratification”, and Art. 77: “1. In accordance with Article 31, any State Party and the Commission may submit proposed protocols to this Convention for consideration by the States Parties at the General Assembly with a view to gradually including other rights and freedoms within its system of protection. 2. Each protocol shall determine the manner of its entry into force and shall be applied only among the States Parties to it.” 20 Vienna Convention on the Law on Treaties, Art. 39: “General rule regarding the amendment of treaties. A treaty may be amended by agreement between the parties. The rules laid down in Part II apply to such an agreement except insofar as the treaty may otherwise provide.” Art 40: “Amendment of multilateral treaties. 1. Unless the treaty otherwise provides, the amendment of multilateral treaties shall be governed by the following paragraphs. 2. Any proposal to amend a multilateral treaty as between all the parties must be notified to all the contracting States, each one of which shall have the right to take part in: a) the decision as to the action to be taken in regard to such proposal; b) the negotiation and conclusion of any agreement for the amendment of the treaty. 3. Every State entitled to become a party to the treaty shall also be entitled to become a party to the treaty as amended. 4. The amending agreement does not bind any State already a party to the treaty which does not become a party to the amending agreement; article 30, paragraph 4 (b), applies in relation to such State. 5. Any State which becomes a party to the treaty after the entry into force of the amending agreement shall, failing an expression of a different intention by that State: a) be considered as a party to the treaty as amended; and b) be considered as a party to the unamended treaty in relation to any party to the treaty not bound by the amending agreement.” 21 Art. 68 of the Convention, already cited. 22 Art. 59 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice: “The decision of the Court has no binding force except between the parties and in respect of that particular case.”