395. In addition, Article 29(1) of the Organic Law of the Judiciary sets forth the procedure for the substitution of a judge, when necessary: 1.- Judges shall be substituted by other judges of the same area, in the manner established by the President of the Court. If they, in turn, are unable to hear the case, the respective substitutes shall be called and, if the case also includes the substitutes, the incumbent of the office where the case is located shall hear the matter, despite grounds for disqualification and without disciplinary liability for that reason. 552 396. In a decision dated March 11, 2008, the Third Chamber ruled on this point, stating that the composition of the court by Judge Sandí Murcia, among others, was in keeping with the Costa Rican legal system: […] [Judge] Miriam Sandí Murcia, joined the court as fourth judge, pursuant to the provisions of Article 336 subparagraph d) 553 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and had therefore been participating in all the trial hearings. Therefore, this is not a mere substitution. […] the certification provided shows that the said judge is assigned to the Criminal Court of San José, Desamparados Section, which is a section of the San José Criminal Court, in accordance with Articles 22 and 96 bis final paragraph 554 of the Organic Law of the Judiciary, and was sworn in from the moment she was appointed to the position, as notified to the undersigned judges by the Office of the Supreme Court of Justice, from March 5, 2005 to December 5, 2007. Therefore, it is not true that she was not qualified to hear this matter. 555 397. In this regard, the representatives did not provide sufficient arguments or evidence to disprove the Third Chamber’s comments on a matter that involves interpreting Costa Rican law in relation to the organization of the Judiciary. Therefore, this Court does not have the necessary elements to decide whether there was a violation of the principle of a competent judge with respect to the participation of Judge Sandí Murcia in judgment No. 680-2007, issued on July 17, 2007 against Mr. Martínez Meléndez. 556 398. With respect to the alleged violation of the principle of immediacy of the evidence, according to Article 328 of the CCP in force at the time, “the trial shall be conducted with the uninterrupted presence of the judges and of the parties.” 557 In this regard, this Court notes that Judge Sandí Murcia was appointed as the fourth judge 558 of the criminal case in session number 18-06 of March 14, 2006. In that session it was stated that, “the fourth judge will participate in the trial in a passive manner, not having the power to question witnesses, but 552 29. Cf. Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica. Organic Law of the Judiciary [Law 8] (November 29, 1937) Article 553 Cf. Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica. (November 29, 1937).Code of Criminal Procedure Law 7594 (10 April 1996): “Continuity and suspension: The hearing shall be held without interruption, for as many consecutive sessions as may be necessary until its completion; however, it may be suspended for a maximum period of ten days, in the following cases: [...] d) if any judge, prosecutor or defense counsel becomes ill to the point of being unable to continue to act in the trial, unless the latter two can be replaced immediately or the court has been constituted, from the start of the hearing, with a higher number of judges than that required for its constitution, so that the substitutes integrate the court and allow the continuation of the hearing […].” 554 Cf. Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica. (November 29, 1937). Organic Law of the Judiciary [Law 8]: Article 96 bis.- “The criminal trial courts shall be constituted with only one of their members to hear the following cases: […]in places that are not the seat of a trial court, the court may provide for the operation of other offices attached to that court; these shall be heard by the number of judges necessary, based on the required efficiency of the service. […].judges of the main office and of the attached offices may substitute for each other reciprocally.” 555 Cf. Decision No. 2008-00232 of the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, of March 11, 2008 (evidence file, folios 33985 and 33986) 556 Cf. Judgment No. 680-2007 of the Criminal Court of the First Judicial Circuit of San José, of July 17, 2007 (evidence file, folio 35363). 557 Cf. Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica. (April 10, 1996) Article 328. Code of Criminal Procedure [Law 7594]. 558 Cf. Organic Law of the Judiciary, Article 96.- “The criminal trial courts shall be composed of at least four judges and shall be constituted, in each case, with three of them, to hear the following matters: 1.- The trial phase, in proceedings against persons who at the date of the facts belonged to the Supreme Powers of the State, or for crimes punishable by more than five years of prison, unless the abbreviated procedure is applicable […].” 125