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Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "Equality before courts and tribunals also requires that similar cases are dealt with in similar proceedings. If, for example, exceptional criminal procedures or specially constituted courts or tribunals apply in the determination of certain categories of cases… objective and reasonable grounds must be provided to justify the distinction."
- "The obligation to fulfil requires States parties to take steps to ensure that in practice, men and women enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights on a basis of equality. Such steps should include: ...To establish appropriate venues for redress such as courts and tribunals or administrative mechanisms that are accessible to all on the basis of equality, including the poorest and most disadvantaged and marginalized men and women."
- "There should be equality of arms between the parties to the proceedings."
- "The essential elements of a fair hearing include: a) equality of arms between the parties to a proceedings, whether they be administrative, civil, criminal or military."
- "The essential elements of a fair hearing include: c) equality of access by women and men to judicial bodies and equality before the law in any legal proceedings."
- "The right to a fair hearing incorporates the principle of equality of arms. This means that everyone who is a party to proceedings must have a reasonable opportunity of presenting his case to the court under conditions which do not place him/her at a substantial disadvantage vis-à-vis his/her opponent."
- "This guarantee not only applies to courts and tribunals addressed in the second sentence of this paragraph of article 14, but must also be respected whenever domestic law entrusts a judicial body with a judicial task."
- "Article 14 is also relevant where a State, in its legal order, recognizes courts based on customary law, or religious courts, to carry our to entrusts them with judicial tasks. It must be ensured that such courts cannot hand down binding judgments recognized by the State, unless the following requirements are met:...the basic requirements of fair trial and other relevant guarantees of the Covenant, and their judgments are validated by State courts in light of the guarantees set out in the Covenant and can be challenged by the parties concerned in a procedure meeting the requirements of article 14 of the Covenant."
- "Similarly, the imposition of fees on the parties to proceedings that would de facto prevent their access to justice might give rise to issues under article 14, paragraph 1."
- "The cost of access to judicial review should not be such as to discourage applications."
- "No sum of money should be required of a party on behalf of the state as a condition of commencing proceedings which would be unreasonable having regard to the matters in issue. (12) In so far as the court fees constitute a manifest impediment to justice they should be, if possible, reduced or abolished. The system of court fees should be examined in view of its simplification."
- "The complaints procedure should be free of unnecessary obstacles, especially as regards to the cost of bringing an action to court. Wherever possible the complaints procedures should be accessible without charge to the complainant. Where costs are unavoidable, they should be kept to a minimum so as not to deter citizens from bringing a complaint."
- "States should take measures to ensure that all procedural documents are in a simple form and that the language used is comprehensible to the public and any judicial decision is comprehensible to the parties."
- "...The availability of such procedures must be open and known to the electorate and the parties."
- "The complaints procedure should be transparent and easily understandable. Appropriate forms should be readily available for filing complaints and appeals in the languages used in the country."
- "A victim’s right of access to justice includes all available judicial, administrative, or other public processes under existing domestic laws as well as under international law. Obligations arising under international law to secure the individual or collective right to access justice and fair and impartial proceedings should be made available under domestic laws. To that end, States should: (a) Make known, through public and private mechanisms, all available remedies for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law."
- "All the necessary information about the sittings of judicial bodies shall be made available to the public by the judicial body."
- "Appropriate measures should be taken to inform the public of the location and competence of the courts and the way in which proceedings are commenced or defended before the courts."
- "An effective, fair and transparent complaints procedure requires that potential complainants be informed of the means by which the complaint should be made, which body it will be considered by and the timeframe for its resolution. In addition, complainants should be aware of the type and amount of evidence needed to sustain their allegations with sufficient factual and legal remedies available."
- "The right to challenge electoral results and for aggrieved parties to seek redress should be provided by law. The petition process should set out the scope of available review, procedures for its initiation and the powers of the independent judicial body charged with such review."
- "Any judgment rendered in a criminal case or in a suit at law shall be made public except where the interest of juvenile persons otherwise requires or the proceedings concern matrimonial disputes or the guardianship of children."
- "In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law. Judgment shall be pronounced publicly but the press and public may be excluded from all or part of the trial in the interests of morals, public order or national security in a democratic society, where the interests of juveniles or the protection of the private life of the parties so require, or to the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the court in special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interests of justice."
- "Even in cases in which the public is excluded from the trial, the judgment, including the essential findings, evidence and legal reasoning must be made public, except where the interest of juvenile persons otherwise requires, or the proceedings concern matrimonial disputes or the guardianship of children."
- "a) All information regarding judicial proceedings shall be accessible to the public, except information or documents that have been specifically determined by judicial officials not to be made public. b) States must ensure that proper systems exist for recording all proceedings before judicial bodies, storing such information and making it accessible to the public. c) All decisions of judicial bodies must be published and available to everyone throughout the country. d) The cost to the public of obtaining records of judicial proceedings or decisions should be kept to a minimum and should not be so high as to amount to a denial of access."
- "g. Judgment should be pronounced in public. h. Reasons should be given for the judgment. Tribunals should indicate with sufficient clarity the grounds on which they base their decisions."
- "Article 6 [of the ECHR] states that judgment shall be pronounced publicly. This provision is not subject to any exceptions of the kind permitted under the rule that hearings should be held in public. It is however also intended to contribute to a fair trail through public scrutiny."
- "The right to an effective remedy includes: (iii) access to the factual information concerning the violations."
- "The obligation to respect, ensure respect for and enforce international human rights and humanitarian law includes, inter alia, a State’s duty to: (b) Investigate violations and, where appropriate, take action against the violator in accordance with domestic and international law."
- "States Parties adopt legislative, judicial, administrative, educative and other appropriate measures in order to fulfill their legal obligations."
- "Member states should ensure that administrative authorities implement judicial decisions within a reasonable period of time. In order to give full effect to these decisions, they should take all necessary measures in accordance with the law. b. In cases of non-implementation by an administrative authority of a judicial decision, an appropriate procedure should be provided to seek execution of that decision, in particular through an injunction or a coercive fine."
- "States should ensure that violations of human rights and complaints relating to the electoral process are determined promptly within the timeframe of the electoral process and effectively by an independent and impartial authority, such as an electoral commission or the courts."
- "The courts should be strengthened in terms of both human and financial resources to enable them adequately deal with election petitions and offences and to ensure a level playing field and free and fair elections."
- "Where the investigations referred to in paragraph 15 reveal violations of certain Covenant rights, States Parties must ensure that those responsible are brought to justice. As with failure to investigate, failure the bring to justice perpetrators of such violations could in an of itself give rise to a separate breach of the Covenant."
- "The state must punish any kind of electoral fraud."
- "State Parties to the present Charter shall have the duty to guarantee the independence of the Courts and shall allow the establishment and improvement of appropriate national institutions entrusted with the promotion and protection of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the present Charter."
- "The independence of judges and the impartial operation of the public judicial service will be ensured."
- "The independence of the judiciary shall be guaranteed by the State and enshrined in the Constitution or the law of the country. It is the duty of all governmental and other institutions to respect and observe the independence of the judiciary."
- "The executive and legislative powers should ensure that judges are independent and that steps are not taken which could endanger the independence of judges."
- "In the decision-making process judges should be independent and be able to act without any restriction, improper influence, inducements, pressures, threats or interferences, direct or indirect, from any quarter or for any reason. The law should provide for sanctions against persons seeking to influence judges in any such manner."
- "It is necessary to guarantee a judiciary that is totally unconstrained by any partisan influence or control. The following are some of the basic principles of the independence of the judiciary….States are required to provide adequate resource to enable proper functioning of the judiciary."
- "States must ensure, through adoption of national legislation, that in regard to human rights violations, which are matters of public concern, any individual, group of individuals or non-governmental organization is entitled to bring an issue before judicial bodies for determination."
- "The legal framework should clearly state who is permitted file to complaints with election commissions/bodies and/or courts for electoral violations. The legal framework should provide that every voter, candidate, and political party has the right to lodge a complaint with the competent election commission or court when an infringement of electoral rights has occurred."
- "Urges States parties, in accordance with articles 10 and 13 of the Convention, to continue to take measures to enhance transparency in public administration, including through the introduction of effective measures facilitating access by the public to information, and requests the Secretariat to provide technical assistance upon request to States parties seeking to introduce or enhance measures in this area, in cooperation, where appropriate, with interested donors. "
- "Urges States parties to raise public awareness of corruption and laws and regulations against it, including the Convention itself, as well as the existing rights of and possibilities for the general public to obtain information on the organization, functioning and decision-making processes of their public administrations."
- "Urges States parties to raise public awareness of corruption and laws and regulations against it, as well as the existing rights of and possibilities for the general public with respect to obtaining information on the organization, functioning and decision-making processes of their public administration and raise public awareness of the responsibilities of public officials with respect to the performance of their functions, with due regard to the protection of privacy and personal data."
- "Indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other peoples and individuals and have the right to be free from any kind of discrimination, in the exercise of their rights, in particular that based on their indigenous origin or identity. "
- "Every person has the right of recognition everywhere as a person before the law. Every person is equal before the law. Every person is entitled without discrimination to equal protection of the law. "
- "Every woman has the right to the recognition, enjoyment, exercise and protection of all human rights and freedoms embodied in regional and international human rights instruments. These rights include, among others: ...c.The right to personal liberty and security. "
- "Member states may limit the right of access to official documents. Limitations should be set down precisely in law, be necessary in a democratic society and be proportionate to the aim of protecting: i. national security, defence and international relations; ii. public safety; iii. the prevention, investigation and prosecution of criminal activities; iv. privacy and other legitimate private interests; v. commercial and other economic interests, be they private or public; vi. the equality of parties concerning court proceedings; vii. nature; viii. inspection, control and supervision by public authorities; ix. the economic, monetary and exchange rate policies of the state; x. the confidentiality of deliberations within or between public authorities during the internal preparation of a matter. 2. Access to a document may be refused if the disclosure of the information contained in the official document would or would be likely to harm any of the interests mentioned in paragraph 1, unless there is an overriding public interest in disclosure. "
- "Every woman has the right to the recognition, enjoyment, exercise and protection of all human rights and freedoms embodied in regional and international human rights instruments. These rights include, among others: ...g. The right to simple and prompt recourse to a competent court for protection against acts that violate her rights. "