A/HRC/8/4 page 7 and judicial channels, this definition also covers alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, which are increasingly important in certain contexts, and in regard to certain rights and specific social groups. B. Content and scope of the right of access to justice 17. The legal complexity and richness of the concept of access to justice lies in the fact that it is both a right in itself and the means of restoring the exercise of rights that have been disregarded or violated. As an indispensable component of specific rights such as the right to liberty and to personal safety, it is closely linked to the right to effective judicial protection (fair trial or due process), the right to an effective remedy3 and the right to equality.4 1. Right to a fair trial 18. This right is recognized in article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and treaties of the various regional systems for human rights protection,5 and implies access to a predetermined, independent and impartial court, the decisions of which are based on law, following proceedings that observe procedural guarantees. As the Human Rights Committee states in its general comment No. 32, article 14 is of a particularly complex nature, combining various guarantees with different scopes of application: (a) equality before the courts; (b) right to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law; (c) procedural guarantees; (d) right to compensation in cases of miscarriage of justice in criminal cases; and (e) right not to be tried or punished again for an offence that has already been tried (ne bis in idem). In the context of access to justice the first three guarantees are of particular relevance. 2. Right to an effective remedy 19. This right strengthens the conditions of access to justice insofar as it includes effective procedural guarantees such as amparo or habeas corpus in the demands and requirements of a fair trial or the right to protection of the courts. Judicial protection applies in disputes in respect of any rights, whereas effective remedy protects certain specific rights acknowledged as fundamental and identified as such in the Constitution, the law or international treaties. For example, article 2, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 3 Artículo 2.3 del PIDCP. 4 “En la medida en que la legitimidad del Estado de Derecho se apoya en una implementación efectiva del principio de igualdad ante la ley, las desigualdades para acceder a la justicia comprometen esa legitimidad que el Estado democrático tiene la necesidad de preservar y nutrir constantemente. La falta de igualdad de posibilidades de los ciudadanos en la defensa de sus derechos socava la legitimidad del Estado y las instituciones democráticas” : A.M. Garro, “El acceso a la justicia y el ‘derecho de interés público’”, Justicia y Sociedad, vol. 2, 1999, p. 52. 5 Artículo 8 de la Convención Americana sobre Derechos Humanos y el artículo 6 de la Convención Europea de Derechos Humanos.