A/HRC/11/13 page 22 B. Interplay between judicial and non-judicial mechanisms 91. Judicial and non-judicial mechanisms sometimes are thought of as mutually exclusive, and in some circumstances, they may be. For instance, grievances that raise issues of criminal law in particular may necessitate judicial recourse. But typically the two mechanisms are more interactive, and may be complementary, reinforcing, sequential or preventive, as illustrated below: (a) Non-judicial mechanisms often can be engaged earlier and faster than judicial processes, as well as in situations where a dispute does not amount to a legal cause of action; (b) solution; The prospect of litigation often incentivizes parties to reach a negotiated or mediated (c) Mechanisms at the national or international levels may offer alternatives where local courts or mediated processes fail, or are inadequate or absent; (d) Mechanisms at the company level form an essential part of early warning and risk management to identify, mitigate and resolve grievances before they escalate and possibly entail extensive abuses and lawsuits. 92. Each type of mechanism has inherent advantages and disadvantages52. If effective remedies for business-related human rights abuses are to be improved, a range of options is required from which complainants can choose according to their needs and situations. Progress from the current patchwork to a more complete and deliberate system will require improvements in access to, and the effectiveness of, existing mechanisms; and new mechanisms where no effective ones are currently in prospect. C. Judicial mechanisms 93. States often point to their criminal and civil law systems to demonstrate that they are meeting their international obligations to investigate, punish and redress abuse. However, significant barriers to accessing effective judicial remedy persist.53 Most are well known, are not unique to business and human rights, and are the subject of ongoing capacity-building work by States in partnership with international institutions. The Special Representative’s work focuses specifically on barriers that are particularly salient for victims of corporate-related human rights abuses. 52 See “Non-Judicial and Judicial Grievance Mechanisms for addressing disputes between business and society”, prepared for the Special Representative’s consultation on grievance mechanisms: www.business-humanrights.org/Documents/Non-judicial-and-judicialmechanisms-Mar-2009.doc. 53 See “Obstacles to Justice and Redress for Victims of Corporate Human Rights Abuses, available at http://www.reports-and-materials.org/Oxford-Pro-Bono-Publico-submission-toRuggie-3-Nov-2008.pdf.