A/HRC/23/43 25. In December 2012, the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems, 7 which aim “to provide guidance to States on the fundamental principles on which a legal aid system in criminal justice should be based and to outline the specific elements required for an effective and sustainable national legal aid system”. Although the Principles and Guidelines only focus on the provision of legal aid in the criminal justice system, the Special Rapporteur considers that they represent the most comprehensive legal instrument to date for the development and strengthening of legal aid systems at the national level. B. Normative framework 26. Existing human rights treaties do not provide any definition of legal aid. The only internationally agreed definition is that contained in the United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems, which construes the term “legal aid” as including “legal advice, assistance and representation for victims and for arrested, prosecuted and detained persons in the criminal justice process, provided free of charge for those without means. Furthermore, „legal aid‟ is intended to include the concepts of legal education, access to legal information and other services provided for persons through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and restorative justice processes”.8 27. The Special Rapporteur considers that the aim of legal aid is to contribute to the elimination of obstacles and barriers that impair or restrict access to justice by providing assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Accordingly, the definition of legal aid should be as broad as possible. It should include not only the right to free legal assistance in criminal proceedings, as defined in article 14 (3) (d) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but also the provision of effective legal assistance in any judicial or extrajudicial procedure aimed at determining rights and obligations. 28. The Special Rapporteur is of the view that the right to legal aid can be construed as both a right and an essential procedural guarantee for the effective exercise of other human rights, including the right to an effective remedy, the right to liberty and security of person, the right to equality before the courts and tribunals, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial. Owing to its importance and considering its potential scope, the right to legal aid should be recognized, guaranteed and promoted in both criminal and non-criminal cases. 29. In its general comment No. 32 (2007), the Human Rights Committee acknowledged that “the availability or absence of legal assistance often determines whether or not a person can access the relevant proceedings or participate in them in a meaningful way”, and encouraged States to provide free legal aid not only in criminal proceedings, but also in other cases where individuals do not have sufficient means to pay for it. In some cases, the Committee considered that States may even be obliged to do so, for instance “where a person sentenced to death seeks available constitutional review of irregularities in a criminal trial but does not have sufficient means to meet the cost of legal assistance to pursue such a remedy” (para. 10). 30. In its general comment No. 28 (2000), the Human Rights Committee requested States parties to provide information on whether access to justice and the right to a fair trial, provided for in article 14 of the Covenant, were enjoyed by women on equal terms with 7 8 6 General Assembly resolution 67/187, annex. Ibid., para. 8.