A/HRC/30/37 Principle 9 Assistance by legal counsel and access to legal aid 12. Persons deprived of their liberty shall have the right to legal assistance by counsel of their choice, at any time during their detention, including immediately after the moment of apprehension. Upon apprehension, all persons shall be promptly informed of this right. 13. Assistance by legal counsel in the proceedings shall be at no cost for a detained person without adequate means or for the individual bringing proceedings before a court on the detainee’s behalf. In such cases, effective legal aid shall be provided promptly at all stages of the deprivation of liberty; this includes, but is not limited to, the detainee’s unhindered access to legal counsel provided by the legal aid regime. 14. Persons deprived of their liberty shall be accorded adequate time and facilities to prepare their case, including through disclosure of information in accordance with the present Basic Principles and Guidelines, and to freely communicate with legal counsel of their choice. 15. Legal counsel shall be able to carry out their functions effectively and independently, free from fear of reprisal, interference, intimidation, hindrance or harassment. Authorities shall respect the privacy and confidentiality of legal counseldetainee communications. Principle 10 Persons able to bring proceedings before a court 16. Procedures shall allow anyone to bring proceedings before a court to challenge the arbitrariness and lawfulness of the deprivation of liberty and to obtain without delay appropriate and accessible remedies, including the detainee, his or her legal representative, family members or other interested parties, whether or not they have proof of the consent of the detainee. 17. No restrictions may be imposed on the detainee’s ability to contact his or her legal representative, family members or other interested parties. Principle 11 Appearance of the detainee before the court 18. The court should guarantee the physical presence of the detainee before it, especially for the first hearing of the challenge to the arbitrariness and lawfulness of the deprivation of liberty and every time that the person deprived of liberty requests to appear physically before the court. Principle 12 Equality before the courts 19. The proceedings shall be fair and effective in practice, and the parties to the proceedings in question shall be ensured the right to equal access to present their full case, and equality of arms, and be treated without any discrimination before the courts. 20. Every individual deprived of liberty shall be guaranteed the right to have access to all material related to the detention or presented to the court by State authorities to preserve the equality of arms. The requirement that the same procedural rights be provided to all parties is subject only to distinctions that are based on the law and can be justified on objective, reasonable grounds not entailing actual disadvantage or other unfairness to the detained person. 8