CEDAW/C/GC/33
(b) Availability requires the establishment of courts, quasi -judicial bodies or
other bodies throughout the State party in urban, rural and remote areas, as well as
their maintenance and funding;
(c) Accessibility requires that all justice systems, both formal and quasi judicial, be secure, affordable and physically accessible to women, and be adapted
and appropriate to the needs of women, including those who face intersecting or
compounded forms of discrimination;
(d) Good quality of justice systems requires that all components of the
system adhere to international standards of competence, efficiency, independence
and impartiality 5 and provide, in a timely fashion, appropriate and effective
remedies that are enforced and that lead to sustainable gender -sensitive dispute
resolution for all women. It also requires that justice systems be contextualized,
dynamic, participatory, open to innovative practical measures, gender -sensitive and
take account of the increasing demands by women for justice;
(e) Provision of remedies requires that justice systems provide women with
viable protection and meaningful redress for any harm that they may suffer (see
art. 2); and
(f) Accountability of justice systems is ensured through monitoring to
guarantee that they function in accordance with the principles of justiciability,
availability, accessibility, good quality and provision of remedies. The
accountability of justice systems also refers to the monitoring of the actions of
justice system professionals and of their legal responsibility when they violate the
law.
15. With regard to justiciability, the Committee recommends that States
parties:
(a) Ensure that rights and correlative legal protections are recognized
and incorporated into the law, improving the gender responsiveness of the
justice system;
(b) Improve women’s unhindered access to justice systems and thereby
empower them to achieve de jure and de facto equality;
(c) Ensure that justice system professionals handle cases in a gendersensitive manner;
(d) Ensure the independence, impartiality, integrity and credibility of
the judiciary and the fight against impunity;
(e) Tackle corruption in justice systems as an important element of
eliminating discrimination against women in gaining access to justice;
(f) Confront and remove barriers to women’s participation as
professionals within all bodies and levels of judicial and quasi-judicial systems
and providers of justice-related services, and take steps, including temporary
special measures, to ensure that women are equally represented in the judiciary
and other law implementation mechanisms as magistrates, judges, prosecutors,
public defenders, lawyers, administrators, mediators, law enforcement officials,
judicial and penal officials and expert practitioners, as well as in other
professional capacities;
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See the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, endorsed by the General Assembly
in its resolution 40/32.
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