A/HRC/23/43 the international legal obligations that they have undertaken. Legal aid systems should be institutionalized so that they can be duly organized and monitored and providers can be held accountable in the event that they fail to offer adequate, proper, timely and effective services. 90. The Special Rapporteur notes that, in practice, many countries still lack the necessary resources and capacity to promote the right of everyone to free legal aid, and that the inadequacy of funds to ensure legal support for those who do not have sufficient financial means adversely affects their access to justice and, consequently, their equal and effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. V. Recommendations 91. With due regard for the United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems, the Special Rapporteur makes the recommendations below with the aim of assisting States in developing and taking appropriate and effective measures to strengthen access to legal aid in their justice systems. A. Legislation on legal aid 92. The right to legal aid should be legally guaranteed in national legal systems at the highest possible level, if possible by the Constitution. 93. States should consider enacting specific legislation to establish a comprehensive legal aid system that is accessible, effective, sustainable and credible. 94. Legislation on legal aid should, inter alia: (a) Contain a broad definition of legal aid; (b) Develop specific criteria to determine eligibility for legal aid; (c) Ensure that effective legal assistance is provided at all stages of the criminal justice process, at the pretrial stage and in any non-criminal judicial or extrajudicial procedure aimed at determining rights and obligations; (d) Ensure that information on the right to legal aid and in what such aid consists, including the availability of legal aid services and how to gain access to them, is made available to the general public through all appropriate means, including the media and the Internet, as well as in any facility where persons are imprisoned or detained; (e) Determine the minimum qualifications and training of professionals and paralegals working for the legal aid system. B. Establishment of a national legal aid system 95. States should identify, among the different models for the provision of legal aid, the one that can maximise access to free legal aid for all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction, taking into account the scope and funding of legal aid schemes, the type of justice systems to which they belong and the area of jurisdiction where they function. 96. States should consider establishing independent legal aid agencies or authorities, such as public defenders’ offices, that provide, administer, coordinate and monitor legal aid services. State-run legal aid schemes, regardless of their 19