her right to nationality, and that due process had been violated. 139 One of Ms. Habbal’s
arguments was that notification by publication was not valid, because the summons initiating
the proceedings for the revocation of citizenship should have been served at the address on
file with the National Register of Voters. She also maintained that the judge should have had
more evidence to demonstrate the alleged false statements made in the documents, and to
prove the existence of malicious intent. Finally, Ms. Habbal contended that the Federal Judge
should have waited for the Criminal Court Judge to determine whether citizenship had been
obtained by fraudulent means before deciding whether it should be maintained or revoked. 140
111. In this regard, the Court recalls that in the judgment of June 30, 1995, the Mendoza
Court of Appeals confirmed the decision of the Acting Federal Judge. The Court held that none
of the questions raised by Ms. Habbal “constitutes sufficient reason to declare the nullity of
the judgment challenged, because in reality most of the points are errors in iudicando that do
not carry sufficient weight to affect the appellant’s right of defense or to disqualify the
judgment as a valid jurisdictional act, which can be remedied, in any case, through an
appeal.” 141 Regarding the complaint related to the nullity of the summons, it stated that an
appeal for the declaration of nullity “is only appropriate with respect to errors in the judgment,
which does not apply in the case under review, since the error pointed out by the appellants
goes back to the very beginning of the proceedings: the notification that Ms. Habbal should
have received regarding the commencement of the proceedings for the revocation of
citizenship at the address registered with the electoral authorities.” 142 For this reason, Ms.
Habbal’s attorneys lodged an extraordinary appeal with the Federal Court of Appeals. On
October 18, 1995, the Federal Appeals Court of the Province of Mendoza rejected the
extraordinary appeal because there was no evidence of the existence of a “federal case” even
though the formal requirements for the appeal had been met.
112. In the instant case, the Court notes that various judicial remedies were available to
Ms. Habbal to resolve her claims regarding violations of her rights to nationality and due
process. These remedies were effective, inasmuch as the judicial authorities that heard them
analyzed and responded to the allegations made by Ms. Habbal. The Federal Appeals Court
proceeded to analyze the substantive allegations of the alleged victim on appeal, and rejected
them based on legal arguments and domestic case law. No omissions of the State’s obligations
under Articles 8 and 25 of the Convention were observed. 143 The Court reiterates that the
effectiveness of a remedy should not be evaluated based on whether it produces a favorable
result for the complainant (supra para. 108). Therefore, in this case it is not for this Court to
question alleged errors of law by the domestic courts which ruled on the appeals, since their
assessment is not arbitrary or manifestly unreasonable. 144
Cf. Note presented by Dr. Carlos Varela Álvarez, on November 2, 1994 (evidence file, folio 82), and
Documentary evidence of the remedy of appeal and appeal for the declaration of nullity by attorneys Carlos Varela
Álvarez and Diego Lavado, submitted in February 1995 (evidence file, folio 87).
139
140
Cf. Documentary evidence for the remedy of appeal and appeal for the declaration of nullity prepared by
attorneys Carlos Varela Álvarez and Diego Lavado, submitted in February 1995 (evidence file, folio 96).
141
107).
142
109).
Cf. Judgment of Court 8 of the Federal Court of Appeals of Mendoza of June 30, 1995 (evidence file, folio
Cf. Judgment of Court 8 of the Federal Court of Appeals of Mendoza of June 30, 1995 (evidence file, folio
143
Cf. Judgment of Court 8 of the Federal Court of Appeals of Mendoza of June 30, 1995 (evidence file, folio
109 to 111).
144
Cf. inter alia, ECHR [Grand Chamber], S., V. and A. v. Denmark, Nos. 35553/12, 36678/12 and 36711/12,
judgment of October 22, 2018, para. 148.
37