A/HRC/40/61 Guatemala, whose experiences brought to light the inherent connection between the right to housing and central human rights values linked to the right to a dignified life. 10 11. A growing number of States included the right to housing as a justiciable right in their constitutions, and in jurisdictions that did not recognize the right to housing explicitly courts began to provide effective remedies for the right to housing by recognizing its indivisibility with the right to life. 11 Ensuring access to justice for the right to housing is less a question of the specific constitutional protections in place and more a question of whether courts and Governments are willing to recognize that the right to housing is central to the core human rights values that courts must safeguard and to which Governments must be held accountable. B. Key principles of access to justice for the right to housing 12. The central question, “Where do I go to claim my right to housing?”, must be answered in the context of a State’s particular legal order. States are permitted to determine how best, but not whether, to ensure access to justice for various components of the right to housing. International human rights law imposes a number of overarching obligations on Governments and courts with respect to access to justice for the right to housing, based on the following 10 key principles. Principle 1 – Access to justice must be ensured by all appropriate means and address the needs of diverse groups. 13. States must ensure access to justice for the right to housing by all appropriate means, including legislation, to the maximum of available resources, and without discrimination. 12 Access to justice for the right to housing must be conceived inclusively, addressing the diverse circumstances of different groups. It relies on a wide range of approaches, venues and institutions, including rights-based housing strategies, courts, landlord-tenant tribunals, human rights institutions and informal and customary justice systems. Principle 2 – States must implement the right to housing within the domestic legal system so as to provide at least the same level of protection as is afforded under international human rights law. 14. Access to justice must be ensured for all components and dimensions of the right to housing that are guaranteed under international human rights law, ensuring accountability for the State’s obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to housing. Access to justice must be provided not only for a right to physical shelter, but to a safe and secure home in which to live in security, peace and dignity. Effective remedies must be available to ensure legal security of tenure, affordability, habitability, availability of services, accessibility, location and cultural adequacy.13 Principle 3 – Individuals and groups, households and communities must have standing to advance claims and to participate throughout legal processes and the implementation of remedies. 15. Violations of the right to housing may affect both individuals and groups. Entire communities are often affected by development plans or evictions. Access to justice must therefore extend to both individuals and groups. Support should be available for them to participate in all stages of rights claims and in the implementation of remedies. Groups with 10 11 12 13 Supreme Court of India, Olga Tellis and Others v. Bombay Municipal Council, Judgment of 10 July 1985; Constitutional Court of South Africa, Government of the Republic of South Africa and Others v. Grootboom and Others, Judgment of 4 October 2000; and Supreme Court of the City of Buenos Aires, Comisión Municipal de la Vivienda v. Saavedra, Felisa Alicia y otros, Judgment of 7 October 2002. See A/71/310. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Ben Djazia and Bellili v. Spain (E/C.12/61/D/5/2015) para. 13.4. General comment No. 4, para. 8. 5