17 dispute and the Supreme Court of the Republic was the technical organ that settled jurisdictional conflicts. In this respect, he mentioned that doctor Elcira Vásquez, who was in charge of the Supervisory Office for Judges of the Supreme Court, penalized members because they had exceeded their responsibilities. Furthermore, she mentioned that “a petition for habeas corpus is not in order when a preliminary investigation has been opened against the petitioner”, that is, when a judicial action is under way. The witness declared that the officials of the military justice system could not carry out the order in the habeas corpus decision since, if they had done so, they would have suffered a series of consequences, such as being sanctioned or even indicted under the military justice system. In these circumstances, Gustavo Cesti Hurtado had various simple and prompt recourses, such as: if the defendant did not acknowledge his guilt and denied his legal relationship with the facts, he could offer a sufficient provisional guarantee to obtain release on bail; he could have filed a plea as to the jurisdiction of the court before the judge or tribunal that was considered incompetent and, lastly, he could have taken steps in the ordinary jurisdiction to initiate a jurisdictional dispute by requesting that proceedings should be opened and filing a jurisdictional dispute. Gustavo Cesti Hurtado could not request release on bail because he was subject to an embargo, but he could have taken advantage of the guarantees mentioned above. If he had obtained release on bail he could have contested the jurisdiction. The witness stated that Peruvian military justice applies the Constitution, the laws of Peru, international treaties, and the Geneva Convention and its protocols. Furthermore, it applies the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, whenever it benefits the administration of military justice. Military justice is subordinate to the constitutional order to defend sovereignty, territory and territorial integrity, and to ensure discipline. Military judges are nominated by the superior officers and are appointed by Supreme Decision; this means that they are appointed by the President of the Republic, who is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. The witness declared that Gustavo Cesti Hurtado was a retired member of the armed forces, which is the situation of an officer who is not on active duty or in reserve, but definitively separated from the service. He mentioned that he is aware of Article 12 of the Law on Military Status, which establishes that only officers on active duty or in reserve are subject to the Code of Military Justice, and that this law does not consider that retired officers fall within this jurisdiction. However, he stated that this law is clearly administrative in nature, basing his reply on the following arguments: “both officers on active duty and officers in reserve are subject to the Code of Military Justice and to the Investigation Councils, and the Investigation Councils are administrative bodies that prosecute officers for misdemeanors or crimes and, if the fact has been proved, they make a recommendation and this recommendation is that the transgressor is made known to or accused under the military justice system”. The witness pointed out that retired officers are not mentioned, because a retired officer is not subject to the Investigation Councils.