A/HRC/8/4 page 6 14. Some of the most significant findings and recommendations of the meeting - details of which will be included in the next report to the General Assembly - show that the use of states of emergency is growing, spanning all continents, and continues to be a source of serious human rights violations. Of particular concern are situations where the independence of the judiciary is affected, and where emergency powers are granted to military or special courts or commissions to try civilians, thus violating the guarantees of the right to a fair trial. In addition, some States, which have not declared a state of emergency, have tightened national security or anti-terrorist laws and provisions, placing similar - or even more severe - restrictions on human rights than those authorized during a declared emergency. These abuses occur despite the safeguards provided for by international law and the abundant case law in this area; hence the importance of bringing together in one instrument all the norms and principles governing the protection of human rights under states of emergency, with the aim of setting international standards applicable to all States. This should be preceded by a study, to be conducted by OHCHR, compiling important developments over the last 10 years in legislation, case law and doctrine. In addition the Council is requested to pay particular attention to this issue. III. ACCESS TO JUSTICE A. Introduction 15. States have an obligation to guarantee the exercise of the rights required under domestic law and in international treaties to which they are parties. This means that they must unreservedly respect the rights established therein and set up institutional mechanisms to prevent or remedy acts that violate those rights. All States governed by the rule of law have a positive obligation to eliminate obstacles that impair or restrict access to justice. 16. In successive reports, the Special Rapporteur has noted the adverse effects of some structural factors on the effective enjoyment of human rights, and in particular factors directly or indirectly preventing, hindering or impeding access to justice. In the present report, he proposes to consider this issue by looking at its two most important aspects: (a) as a fundamental human right, and (b) the conditions required for its effective realization. The first concerns the complex fabric of rights related to access to justice. The second concerns the institutional and material conditions in which the justice administration system operates, and the factors affecting that operation and access to justice, and follows the direction taken in European case law1 and the modern tendency to broaden the definition of access to justice to mean “the effective availability of institutional channels for the protection of rights and the resolution of various types of conflict in a timely manner and in accordance with the legal order”.2 By referring to both institutional 1 Para el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos el acceso a los tribunales comprende diversos derechos en favor de las partes y que se relacionan tanto con la organización y composición de las instituciones judiciales, como con la substanciación de los procesos. ECHR, Case Brualla de la Torre, v. Spain, 19/12/1997, 155/1996/774/975. 2 J.M. Casal et al., Derechos humanos y acceso a la justicia, Caracas: Instituto Latinoamericano de Investigaciones Sociales, 2005, p.11.