A/HRC/45/CRP.11 or his/her whereabouts are not revealed by the time that the person should be brought before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power. 32 39. The Preamble of the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons reaffirms that the systematic practice of forced disappearance of persons constitutes a crime against humanity,33 while the Rome Statute envisages an additional constitutive element for the crime of enforced disappearance as a crime against humanity, notably the intention of the perpetrator(s) to place the disappeared person outside the protection of the law for a prolonged period of time.34 Arbitrary Detention 40. Venezuela is party to the ICCPR, which binds it to protect those within its jurisdiction against arbitrary or unlawful detention and to guarantee the procedural and fair trial guarantees.35 Article 9 of the ICCPR prohibits both arbitrary arrest and detention and unlawful deprivation of liberty, or deprivation of liberty not imposed in accordance with procedures established by law.36 Article 14 establishes the right to a fair trial and due process guarantees.37 The fundamental guarantee against arbitrary detention is non-derogable.38 41. A detention is considered arbitrary when it does not conform with domestic law or with the relevant international standards set forth in the international instruments accepted by the concerned State. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has interpreted the notion of “arbitrariness” to include elements of inappropriateness, injustice, lack of predictability and due process of law, as well as elements of reasonableness, necessity and proportionality.39 42. The deprivation of liberty for the legitimate exercise of freedom of opinion and expression and/or on the grounds of discrimination based on political or other opinion is arbitrary.40 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Maximum within 48 hours under Venezuelan Law (1999 Constitution, art. 44, and Criminal Procedure Code, art. 236). Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons, Preamble. ICC Statute, art. 7 (2)(i). See note 5 supra in relation to the American Convention on Human Rights. ICCPR, art. 9 (1). For instance, unauthorized confinement of prisoners beyond the length of their sentences is arbitrary as well as unlawful and the same is true for continued confinement of detainees in defiance of a judicial order for their release. Examples of arbitrary detention include: detaining family members of an alleged criminal who are not themselves accused; arrest or detention as punishment for the legitimate exercise of the rights as guaranteed by the Covenant, including freedom of opinion and expression; and arrest or detention on discriminatory grounds in violation of article 2, paragraph 1, including on the grounds of political or other opinions. See Human Rights Committee, General Comment n. 35 (Liberty and security of person), CCPR/C/GC/35, 23 October 2014, paras. 11, 16 and 17. These include the right to be tried by an independent and impartial tribunal (paragraph 1); the presumption of innocence (paragraph 2); the right to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of the defence and to communicate with counsel of own choosing (paragraph 3(b); and the right to be tried without undue delay (paragraph 3 (c). Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 32, art. 14: Right to equality before courts and tribunals and to a fair trial, CCPR/C/GC/32. See Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 35 (Liberty and security of person), CCPR/C/GC/35, para. 66 and General Comment No. 29 on States of Emergency, art. 4, CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.11, paras. 4 and 11. Deliberation No. 9 of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concerning the definition and scope of arbitrary deprivation of liberty under customary international law, in A/HRC/22/44, paras 37 ff. Human Rights Committee, General comment No. 35 on Article 9 (Liberty and security of person), CCPR/C/GC/35, para. 12. See ICCPR, art. 2 and Human Rights Committee, CCPR/C/GC/35, para. 17. 9