91 164. All bodies which exercise functions which are materially jurisdictional have the duty to adopt fair decisions based on the full respect for the guarantees of due process as enshrined in Article 8 of the American Convention.199 * * * 165. Besides the problems arising from the broad jurisdiction of military criminal justice in Chile to try civilians and from the lack of impartiality and independence of its courts, which is typical of their structure and composition, the Court shall analyze whether the guarantees of publicity of the proceedings and those related to the right to defense of the accused as enshrined in Article 8 of the Convention were respected in the military criminal proceedings brought against Mr. Palamara-Iribarne. 166. To that end, the Court will bear in mind that one of the main requirements to be met during their substantiation of criminal proceedings is their publicity. The right to have a public trial is protected by various international instruments as an essential element of judicial guarantees.200 Article 8(5) of the American Convention sets forth that “criminal proceedings shall be public, except insofar as may be necessary to protect the interests of justice.” 167. The right to a public trial as enshrined in Article 8(5) of the Convention is an essential element of accusatory criminal procedural systems in democratic States and is guaranteed by the oral stage of the proceedings, which is governed by the immediacy principle whereby the accused may have immediacy with both the judge and the evidence, and which facilitates access to the proceedings by the public.201 168. The publicity of criminal proceedings aims at preventing the administration of secret justice, submitting it to the careful examination of the parties and the public, and is related to the requirements of transparency and impartiality of the decisions which are to be taken. Furthermore, it is a means for promoting confidence in courts of law.202 Publicity specifically refers to the access to the information the parties to 199 Cf. Case of YATAMA, supra note 5, para. 149; Case of Ivcher-Bronstein, supra note 173, para. 104; and Case of the Constitutional Court, supra note 197, para. 71. 200 Cf. Articles 10 and 11(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Article 14(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights; Article 21(2) of the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia; Article 20(2) of the Statute of the Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; and Articles 67(1) and 64(7) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. 201 Cf. Case of Lori Berenson, supra note 191, paras. 198-200; Case of Cantoral-Benavides. Judgment of August 18, 2000. Series C No. 69, paras. 146 and 147; and Case of Castillo-Petruzzi et al, supra note 192, para. 172. 202 Cf. Osinger v. Austria, No. 54645/00, § 44, March 24, 2005; Riepan v. Austria, No. 35115/97, § 40, ECHR 2000-XII; and Tierce and Others v. San Marino, No. 24954/94, 24971/94, and 24972/94, § 88, ECHR 2000-IX.