38 1. Every person has the right to a hearing, with due guarantees and within a reasonable time, by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal, previously established by law, in the substantiation of any accusation of a criminal nature made against him or for the determination of his rights and obligations of a civil, labor, fiscal, or any other nature. 2. Every person accused of a criminal offense has the right to be presumed innocent so long as his guilt has not been proven according to law. During the proceedings, every person is entitled, with full equality, to the following minimum guarantees: a. the right of the accused to be assisted without charge by a translator or interpreter, if he does not understand or does not speak the language of the tribunal or court; b. prior notification in detail to the accused of the charges against him; c. adequate time and means for the preparation of his defense; d. the right of the accused to defend himself personally or to be assisted by legal counsel of his own choosing, and to communicate freely and privately with his counsel; e. the inalienable right to be assisted by counsel provided by the state, paid or not as the domestic law provides, if the accused does not defend himself personally or engage his own counsel within the time period established by law; f. the right of the defense to examine witnesses present in the court and to obtain the appearance, as witnesses, of experts or other persons who may throw light on the facts; g. the right not to be compelled to be a witness against himself or to plead guilty; and h. the right to appeal the judgment to a higher court. 67. As has been established in this case, the dismissal of the three alleged victims was the result of the application of a sanction by the Legislature, in the context of an impeachment proceeding (supra 56(25)). 68. Respect for human rights constitutes a limit to a State’s activity, and this is true for any organ or official in a situation of power, due to its official nature, with regard to other persons. Consequently, any form of exercising public power that violates the rights recognized in the Convention is unlawful. This is even more important when the State exercises its power to sanction, because this not only presumes that the authorities act with total respect for the legal system, but it also involves granting the minimum guarantees of due process to all persons who are subject to its jurisdiction, as established in the Convention. 69. Although Article 8 of the American Convention is entitled “Judicial Guarantees” [in the Spanish version - “Right to a Fair Trial” in the English version], its application is not strictly limited to judicial remedies, “but rather the procedural requirements that should be observed in order to be able to speak of effective and appropriate judicial guarantees45” so that a person may defend himself adequately in the face of any kind of act of the State that affects his rights. 70. The Court has already established that, although this article does not establish minimum guarantees in matters relating to the determination of rights and obligations of a civil, labor, fiscal or any other nature, the full range of minimum guarantees stipulated in the second paragraph of this article are also applicable in 45 Cf. Judicial Guarantees in States of Emergency (Articles 27(2), 25 and 8 American Convention on Human Rights). Advisory Opinion OC-9/87 of October 6, 1987. Series A No. 9, para. 27.