PULP MILLS (JUDGMENT) 72 before the Court as counsel for one or the other of the Parties to provide evidence. 166. The Parties, however, disagree on the authority and reliability of the studies and reports submitted as part of the record and prepared, on the one hand, by their respective experts and consultants, and on the other, by the experts of the IFC, which contain, in many instances, conflicting claims and conclusions. In reply to a question put by a judge, Argentina stated that the weight to be given to such documents should be determined by reference not only to the “independence” of the author, who must have no personal interest in the outcome of the dispute and must not be an employee of the government, but also by reference to the characteristics of the report itself, in particular the care with which its analysis was conducted, its completeness, the accuracy of the data used, and the clarity and coherence of the conclusions drawn from such data. In its reply to the same question, Uruguay suggested that reports prepared by retained experts for the purposes of the proceedings and submitted as part of the record should not be regarded as independent and should be treated with caution ; while expert statements and evaluations issued by a competent international organization, such as the IFC, or those issued by the consultants engaged by that organization should be regarded as independent and given “special weight”. 167. The Court has given most careful attention to the material submitted to it by the Parties, as will be shown in its consideration of the evidence below with respect to alleged violations of substantive obligations. Regarding those experts who appeared before it as counsel at the hearings, the Court would have found it more useful had they been presented by the Parties as expert witnesses under Articles 57 and 64 of the Rules of Court, instead of being included as counsel in their respective delegations. The Court indeed considers that those persons who provide evidence before the Court based on their scientific or technical knowledge and on their personal experience should testify before the Court as experts, witnesses or in some cases in both capacities, rather than counsel, so that they may be submitted to questioning by the other party as well as by the Court. 168. As for the independence of such experts, the Court does not find it necessary in order to adjudicate the present case to enter into a general discussion on the relative merits, reliability and authority of the documents and studies prepared by the experts and consultants of the Parties. It needs only to be mindful of the fact that, despite the volume and complexity of the factual information submitted to it, it is the responsibility of the Court, after having given careful consideration to all the evidence placed before it by the Parties, to determine which facts must be considered relevant, to assess their probative value, and to draw conclusions from them as appropriate. Thus, in keeping with its practice, the Court will make its own determination of the facts, on the basis of the evidence 62