A/HRC/8/4 page 17 suspension and the cessation of their functions. Among the factors that may affect not only the judicial function but also the exercise of the right of access to justice are a shortage of judges or the inaccessibility of judges by reason of distance, as already mentioned, the material circumstances in which members of the judiciary work, the training received by judges and the mechanisms and laws instituted to preserve their independence and impartiality. By way of example, the Special Rapporteur draws attention to the report on his mission to Kazakhstan (E/CN.4/2005/60/Add.2). 40. Lawyers - Although not part of the judicial structure, lawyers play an essential role in the right to justice, in access to justice and, especially, in the right to a defence. In order to fulfil their role, they need a legal and institutional framework that allows them to exercise their profession freely and a judicial culture that allows them to meet their clients in private and to communicate with the accused in conditions that fully respect the confidentiality of their communications. Yet the experience of this mandate shows how often lawyers are subjected to pressure, intimidation and constraints, leading up in many cases to arrest, assault and disappearance, for example. In many countries their work is hampered by complex regulatory regimes that govern the issuance and renewal of licences to practise law, and in extreme cases it may, for example, be the public prosecutor who takes the decision or advises the executive branch on the matter. Directly and indirectly, all these circumstances seriously affect access to justice. On the other hand, many means have been devised to provide legal assistance to those without the necessary financial resources.45 In some cases, the State arranges with private lawyers or bar associations to provide services that are later reimbursed by the State.46 In other cases, lawyers operate as if they were civil servants paid by the State to provide free legal assistance;47 these are the court-appointed defence counsels. The public defender’s office can be established as a State institution in several ways, either as part of the judiciary or the ministry of justice, or as a functionally and financially autonomous entity, an option that is spreading in Latin America. Provision is usually also made for the hiring of outside lawyers. In some countries, NGOs and universities have taken initiatives, setting up legal clinics, for example, and other means of providing this service. In some particularly sensitive cases or cases affecting a large number of people (environment, consumer protection, public health or anti-impunity cases), victims are represented by NGOs or by lawyers defending wider social interests. The aim is to overcome the barriers to access to justice encountered by certain groups, including lack of information, fear, high litigation costs or 45 Vid. Por ejemplo E: Blankenburg, “Comparing Legal Aid Schemes in Europe”, Civil Justice Quarterly, vol. 11, 1992, pp. 106-114; H. Hirte, Access to courts for indigent persons: a comparative analysis of the legal framework in the United Kingdom, United States and Germany”, Civil Justice Quarterly, vol. 11, 1992, pp. 92-123. 46 Caso de Francia, vid., F. Tietgen, “The Paris Bar: Access to justice and access to legal advise”, Fordham International Law Journal, vol. 24, 1999-2000, p. 220. 47 En el caso de Canadá se combinan ambos sistemas. Vid. http://www.canlaw.com/legalaid/aidoffice.htm