Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: General Recommendation No. 33 on Women’s Access to Justice
Publisher: UN CEDAW
Date: 2015
Topics: Assessment, Basic Services, Gender, Governance, Protection and Access to Justice
The right to access to justice for women is essential to the realization of all the rights protected under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. It is a fundamental element of the rule of law and good governance, together with the independence, impartiality, integrity and credibility of the judiciary, the fight against impunity and corruption, and the equal participation of women in the judiciary and other law implementation mechanisms. The right to access to justice is multidimensional. It encompasses justiciability, availability, accessibility, good quality, the provision of remedies for victims and the accountability of justice systems. For the purposes of the present general recommendation, all references to “women” should be understood to include women and girls, unless otherwise specifically noted.
In the present general recommendation, the Committee examines the obligations of States parties to ensure that women have access to justice. These obligations encompass the protection of women’s rights against all forms of discrimination with a view to empowering them as individuals and as rights holders. Effective access to justice optimizes the emancipatory and transformative potential of the law.
In practice, the Committee has observed a number of obstacles and restrictions that impede women from realizing their right to access to justice on a basis of equality, including a lack of effective jurisdictional protection offered by States parties in relation to all dimensions of access to justice. These obstacles occur in a structural context of discrimination and inequality owing to factors such as gender stereotyping, discriminatory laws, intersecting or compounded discrimination, procedural and evidentiary requirements and practices, and a failure to systematically ensure that judicial mechanisms are physically, economically, socially and culturally accessible to all women. All these obstacles constitute persistent violations of women’s human rights.