13 b) Expert witnesses proposed by the representatives 3. René Molina-Galicia, attorney at law Despite the fact that one of the main objectives of the Constitution of 1999 was to have an independent and impartial judiciary, and even though the principle of division of powers has been established, in Venezuelan practice, a judge is a mere “official”, lacking independence and impartiality. In fact, a great number of judges are in office without having complied with the requirements established in the Constitution itself. In Venezuela, the independence of the judiciary is merely formal. The lack of independence and impartiality in the judiciary, which are fundamental elements of any judicial system, has become increasingly more evident. Both of these elements are disappearing due to a strategy specifically designed to make the judiciary participate in the suppression of the most basic public liberties in Venezuela. 4. Fernando M. Fernández, professor of International Criminal Law and Human Rights The expert witness referred to the regulation and case law development of the crime of forced disappearance of persons in Venezuelan domestic legislation. In this regard, he indicated that the Venezuelan Constitution of 1999 recognized forced disappearance as a critical violation of human rights. The Constitution prohibits any public authority to practice, permit or tolerate any forced disappearance of persons. Moreover, it establishes that any author, accomplice or accessory of the crime of forced disappearance of persons shall be punished. In any case, one of the transitory provisions of the Constitution instructs that the Criminal Code be amended to include the crime of forced disappearance of persons, and that, in the meantime, the InterAmerican Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons should be applied as far as possible. The crime of forced disappearance was statutorily described in October 2000 by means of the Ley de Reforma Parcial del Código Penal (Criminal Code Partial Reform Act). The punishment provided for therein is 15 to 25 years’ imprisonment. The crime of forced disappearance shall be deemed continuous as long as the whereabouts of the victim remain unknown. The criminal action resulting from this crime, as well as its punishment, cannot be barred by the statute of limitations, and the individuals responsible for it shall not enjoy any benefit whatsoever, including both pardon and amnesty. The expert witness stated that Venezuela ratified the Statute of Rome, in which the forced disappearance of persons is considered to be an international crime. As for the regulation of the crime of forced disappearance of persons, the expert witness stated that Venezuela meets most of the requirements established in international standards. However, there are some shortcomings in the statutory description of the crime of forced disappearance of persons, such as the following: (a) it does not expressly prohibit preliminary hearings on the merits or any other procedural privilege when the individual being investigated is a civil or military high-