A/HRC/23/35 victims of non-fulfilment of State obligations for the right to education. 71 For that purpose, “access to justice for all, including legal aid” should be promoted. 72 64. Excluding pupils from schools on only an economic basis violates their enjoyment of the right to education, as the Constitutional Court of Colombia ruled in 1997. 73 The Court also ruled that, because of the fundamental character of the right to education, private schools are bound by specific obligations. These concern their disciplinary powers and their capacity to terminate contractual relations with students or their parents. 74 65. Emerging case law is significant in upholding social interest in education. For instance, a ruling given by the Supreme Court of India in April 20 12 upheld the constitutional validity of the provisions in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, which mandates that 25 per cent of seats in private schools in the country should be reserved for the socially and economically wea ker sections of the society. 75 66. Similarly, a recent decision by the Supreme Court of Nepal issued a verdict demanding that educational authorities devise reform program mes to regulate private schools – regulating fees, prohibiting the sale of unregistered and over-priced textbooks, and limiting the number of private schools gaining accreditation. Exorbitant fees charged by private providers of education are causing greater social and economic disparity between working and middle classes. 76 IX. Enforcement of the right to education in protective and promotional spirit 67. Protection and promotion are two pillars of the human rights system on which national legal systems should be grounded. The judicial and the quasi-judicial mechanisms are protective as well as promotional in safeguarding and enforcing the right to education. The obligation to promote the right to education means progressive introduction of free education and States must prioritize the provision of free primary education. Steps to be taken by States must be “deliberate, concrete and targeted” towards the full realization of the right to education. 77 68. In order to promote the equal and effective enjoyment of the right to education, States can adopt affirmative action measures for addressing educational 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 Legal aid and public interest litigation are crucial when individuals cannot defend their rights: groups enjoying legal status and with a stake in the matter (unions, public service users’ or parents’ associations, etc.) may take such action on behalf of their members. Declaration of the High-level Meeting on the Rule of Law at the National and International Levels, adopted by the General Assembly on 24 September 2012, A/RES/67/1 op. cit. Sentencia C-560/97, Demanda de inconstitucionalidad contra el artículo 203 (parcial) de la Ley 115 de 1994. Colombian Constitutional Court, Case T-211/95, May 12, 1995. See also T-377/95, T-145/96, T180/96, T-290/96, T-667/97 and T-580/98. And Colombian Constitutional Court, Case T-065/93, February 26, 1993. Cited in “Courts and the Legal Enforcement of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Comparative experiences of justiciability”, International Commission of Jurists, Geneva, 2008. Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan v. Union of India, (2012) 6 SCC 1. Open Equal Free http://www.openequalfree.org/nepali-private-schools-banned-from-raisingfees/19112. General Comment 13 on the right to education (art. 13 of the Covenant), (paras. 43-44). 17