A/HRC/37/25 and their representatives in accessing independent complaint procedures and courts. 11 Similarly, the regional human rights mechanisms also enshrine the right to fair trial and an effective remedy.12 11. All these instruments, and others related to access to justice, apply equally to persons with disabilities and ensure that they are entitled to the same protections and guarantees in accessing justice as others. None of the treaty bodies had specifically addressed the barriers facing persons with disabilities in accessing justice, and it was only with the entry into force of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that explicit attention to this issue emerged. C. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 12. The Convention introduced innovations that expanded the classical notion of access to justice. It underscores the fact that access to justice for persons with disabilities entails not only the removal of barriers to ensure access to legal proceedings to seek and obtain appropriate remedies on an equal basis with others, but also the promotion of the active involvement and participation of persons with disabilities in the administration of justice. 13. During the negotiations on the Convention, the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities initially considered including this right within parts of other articles of the Convention. Ultimately, it decided to create, for the first time in a human rights treaty, a specific provision formulated as the right to access to justice.13 14. The right to access to justice is presented in the Convention in two parts. Article 13 (1) requires States parties to ensure “effective access to justice for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others, including through the provision of procedural and ageappropriate accommodations, in order to facilitate their effective role as direct and indirect participants, including as witnesses, in all legal proceedings, including at the investigative and other preliminary stages”. By including witnesses and, implicitly, jurors, judges and lawyers, access to justice became for the first time an entitlement belonging to persons other than the parties concerned in legal proceedings. Article 13 (2) requires States parties to promote appropriate training for those working in the field of the administration of justice. The Convention thus considers the justice system as an integral part of governance which requires the contributions and participation of society to function effectively. Ensuring participation in the justice system, in all capacities, is a reaffirmation of the exercise of citizenship also enshrined in articles 4 (3), 29 and 33. 15. Access to justice under the Convention is a cross-cutting right that should be interpreted in line with all its principles and obligations. In particular, article 13 should be read in conjunction with article 5 on equality and non-discrimination, to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy access to justice on an equal basis with others. Access to justice requires enabling rights for persons with disabilities, in particular equal recognition before the law (art. 12), and accessibility, including multiple means of communication and access to information (arts. 9 and 21). 16. The Convention seeks to eliminate multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination faced by persons with disabilities on the grounds of impairment, sex, age, ethnicity, indigenous background, sexual orientation and gender identity, among other elements of their identity. 14 Read together with article 6, article 13 reinforces the right to access to 11 12 13 14 See general comment No. 5 (2003) on general measures of implementation of the Convention, para. 24. African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, art. 7; Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights), arts. 6 and 13; American Convention on Human Rights, arts. 8 and 10. Ad Hoc Committee, seventh session, daily summary of discussions, 18 January 2006. See Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, general comment No. 3 (2016) on women and girls with disabilities, para. 4 (c). 5