11 55. The State emphasizes that the Constitution does not allow for the “illegal assumption of the office” nor does it establish that a Decree of Transition can become a mechanism to repeal the Constitution or to fill the void created by the absence of the President of the Republic. The State points out that the decree adopted within the context of the events of April 12 and 13, 2002, intended to empower the President of the de facto Junta to reorganize the “Powers of the State” without establishing any limits to the nature of its powers, their scope or their duration. 56. The State points out that the petition makes clear that Allan Brewer Carías knew of the existence and content of the decree in question and that he went to the Miraflores Palace to give Pedro Carmona his opinion. The State rejects the petitioners’ claim that Allan Brewer Carías disagreed with the content of the decree. 57. The State contends that even though he knew the content of the decree, Allan Brewer Carías did not repudiate its adoption as any defender of the Constitution and of democracy should have done. The State points out that Article 333 of the Constitution establishes that in the event that the instrument is repealed by an act of force or by any means other than those provided for in the same Constitution, it is the duty of every person with or without vested official authority to help return it into actual effect. The State also alleges that although Allan Brewer Carias considers himself “a dissident of authoritarian policies,” he did not denounce the establishment of a de facto government that concentrated all power in the hands of one person, that changed the name of the Republic and that dissolved all constituted authorities. 58. The State contends that those who guided the coup d’état used the Inter-American Democratic Charter as the basis and grounds to promote an unconstitutional and anti-democratic decree. It points out that the Inter-American Charter establishes principles and mechanisms aimed at protecting the democratic institutions of the States, not at rendering their Constitutions powerless. The State further contends that the constitutional law expert Allan Brewer Carías did not denounce this abuse of the provisions of the Inter-American Charter either. 2. Submissions related to the judicial proceeding 59. In its submissions on merits the State requests the Commission to dismiss as spurious and unfounded the arguments of the petitioners in relation to Articles 2, 8, 13, and 25 of the American Convention, taken in conjunction with Article 1(1) thereof, and wishes to "state expressly for the record the bad faith and temerity of the action intended by the representatives of the supposed victim against the Venezuelan state.” 60. The State provides a detailed account of all the remedies, rights, and obligations of the petitioners for upholding their rights, including the presentation of new evidence, examination of witnesses and experts, proceedings for better evaluation of claims, publicity, settlement, continuity, oral proceedings, to testify as often as they consider appropriate, or not to testify. The State notes that the accused can deny, contradict, and argue matters of fact and law; submit answers and rejoinders; recuse, and confer at all times with his attorney, without any of the foregoing entailing a suspension of the hearing; in other words, he may avail himself of any rights and guarantees that might serve to accomplish the aims of the defense. 61. The State cites Article 327 of the COPP of 2005, which does not set out obligations with 11 respect to the absence of the accused from the preliminary hearing and cites the COPP of 2009, which provides that if the preliminary hearing is postponed more than twice due to the failure of the accused to appear, the proceeding must continue for the other accused and the judge shall hold the hearing with those who are in attendance and separate from the case those who have not appeared. If the hearing is 11 2009. The State cites the COPP of September 4, 2009. Brief of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AGEV/000530, November 17,