A/HRC/36/45 85. When administrative or national quasi-judicial mechanisms do not exist or are not able to successfully resolve a dispute, the right to an effective remedy requires that people whose rights to water and sanitation have been affected be able to turn to a court. A right of judicial review as a last resort is sometimes indispensable. In this context, it is critical that judicial systems uphold the justiciability of the human rights to water and sanitation in line with international human rights law. 86. Accountability must be ensured not only in relation to service providers but also in relation to regulatory bodies’ decisions and activities. The International Water Association’s Lisbon Charter emphasizes that regulatory frameworks should establish the necessary mechanisms to ensure accountability and public scrutiny of regulatory bodies. 40 Individuals should have the right to judicially challenge a regulatory body’s decision or regulation that interferes with the enjoyment of their human rights to water and sanitation. The Colombian water and sanitation regulatory commission issued a number of regulations obliging service providers to disconnect water services when there is no payment during a three-month period. However, cases brought before the Constitutional Court by low-income families were ruled in the families’ favour, as they were being deprived of a “minimum essential level of water” due to their inability to pay.41 V. Conclusions and recommendations 87. Regulatory frameworks are essential for the implementation of the human rights to water and sanitation and must support the State’s obligations with regard to these rights. International human rights law does not call for a particular choice of regulatory framework. What is essential from a human rights perspective is that those carrying out regulatory functions be immune to pressures from any illegitimate interests and that the main objectives of regulation be aligned with the water and sanitation human rights standards and principles. Regulation plays a key role in monitoring service providers’ compliance with the normative content of the human rights to water and sanitation and in ensuring accountability. Identifying and avoiding violations of these rights and retrogressions in their progressive realization is also key for the regulation of water and sanitation services. As public bodies, regulatory actors are bound by States’ international human rights obligations, and their functions should go beyond mere policing and include supporting and influencing policy changes in line with the human rights framework. 88. The Special Rapporteur considers regarding the concept of independence involvement of governmental sectors in making should be safeguarded when it standards are met. 89. that a more nuanced approach is needed of regulatory bodies. In particular, the specific situations of regulatory decisionis relevant to ensure that human rights In line with the above, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States: (a) Adopt water and sanitation policies and strategies incorporating the human rights to water and sanitation, and take deliberate, concrete and targeted steps to establish a regulatory framework informed by these rights and regulatory bodies operating in an impartial, transparent and rights-based manner; (b) Clearly define necessary procedures and measures in the regulatory framework to meet the State’s obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights to water and sanitation; (c) Ensure that the mission, mandate and objectives of regulatory actors incorporate the principle of progressive realization of the human rights to water and sanitation without discrimination of any kind; 40 41 Lisbon Charter, art. 7.6. See www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2009/T-546-09.htm and www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2012/T-273-12.htm. 19