A/HRC/23/43 shortcoming of a lawyer acting for the defence. Nevertheless, lawyers must be responsible for the services they provide, as they must guide their actions according to the codes of ethics or conduct relating to the legal profession. Hence, once lawyers offer their services, either voluntarily or compulsorily, they must be held accountable for their professional conduct and actions. 69. Another model of legal aid scheme consists in the establishment of legal aid clinics in the law department of a university. Under such schemes, students provide free legal assistance, help in the preparation of cases and represent clients in court proceedings, usually under the supervision of a qualified lawyer or faculty staff member. With regard to legal aid clinics, States should take appropriate measures to encourage the support and establishment of such clinics in university law departments and provide incentives to allow students to practice in court under the supervision of a senior lawyer or a law professor. 70. Paralegal programmes are often the only feasible way of delivering effective legal aid in countries where there are not enough lawyers to provide the legal aid services required by the population. Both guideline 14 of the United Nations Principles and Guidelines and the Lilongwe Declaration on Accessing Legal Aid in the Criminal Justice System in Africa35 recognize the role played by paralegals or similar service providers in providing legal aid services where access to lawyers is limited. The Lilongwe Declaration, for example, recognizes that, in the African context, relying on non-lawyers, including law students, paralegals and legal assistants, is the only way of ensuring access to the justice system, and that an effective legal aid system should employ complementary legal and lawrelated services by paralegals and legal assistants. 71. The Special Rapporteur considers that the benefits of a legal aid system based on the support of paralegals should not be underestimated. Paralegals can provide legal aid services on a volunteer basis or at a very low cost. They often work together with trained workers, social workers and other professionals, and since they usually live and work within the community, they often have direct knowledge of the situation and needs of the community that legal professionals working outside frequently do not. Non-lawyers or paralegals can provide clients with assistance during hearings, procedures and negotiations. They can further assist with the drafting of documents and support licensed lawyers during the investigation of cases and interviews with clients and witnesses, thus helping to accelerate the pace of legal procedures and alleviating the heavy case loads of lawyers. 72. States should develop training programmes and a code of conduct to which all paralegals are bound so that they may offer effective legal aid services, such as proper legal advice or even by participating in court proceedings where and when there is a lack of lawyers to do so. (iii) Funding 73. Regardless of the nature and model of legal aid schemes, States should make appropriate budget provisions for legal aid services that are commensurate to their needs so as to ensure that prompt and effective legal aid services are provided to all individuals within their territory and subject to their jurisdiction who would not otherwise be able to afford the costs associated with initiating and pursuing legal proceedings. 74. Funding for legal aid should include legal assistance in criminal, civil and administrative cases. Some States have completely separate systems for criminal and civil 35 Adopted by consensus by the participating countries in the Conference on Legal Aid in Criminal Justice: the Role of Lawyers, Non-Lawyers and other Service Providers in Africa, held in Lilongwe, from 22 to 24 November 2004. 15