A/RES/78/227
Equal access to justice for all
discrimination, and which also enshrines the key principles of equality before the law
and the presumption of innocence, as well as the right to a fair and public hearing by
an independent and impartial tribunal, along with all the guarantees necessary for the
defence of anyone charged with a penal offence, other minimum guarantees and the
entitlement to be tried without undue delay,
Recalling also the Kyoto Declaration on Advancing Crime Prevention, Criminal
Justice and the Rule of Law: Towards the Achievement of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development, 2 adopted by the Fourteenth United Nations Congress on
Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, held in Kyoto, Japan, from 7 to 12 March
2021, in which Member States undertook to contribute to achieving the 2030 Agenda
through efforts in crime prevention and criminal justice, with the firm recognition
that sustainable development and the rule of law are interlinked and mutually
reinforcing, that crime is an impediment to sustainable development and that
achieving sustainable development is an enabling factor for States to effectively
prevent and combat crime,
Recalling further paragraph 48 of the Kyoto Declaration, in which Member
States endeavoured to ensure equal access to justice and application of the law to all,
including vulnerable members of society, regardless of their status, including by
taking appropriate measures to ensure treatment with respect and without
discrimination or bias of any kind by criminal justice institutions,
Taking note of all relevant United Nations standards and norms in crime
prevention and criminal justice, in particular the Code of Conduct for Law
Enforcement Officials, 3 the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, 4
the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct, 5 the Istanbul Declaration on
Transparency in the Judicial Process and the measures for effective implementation
of the Istanbul Declaration, 6 the Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors, 7 the Basic
Principles on the Role of Lawyers, 8 the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for
Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, 9 the basic principles on the use of restorative
justice programmes in criminal matters, 10 the United Nations Principles and
Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems, 11 the United Nations
Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules), 12 the United
Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for
Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), 13 the United Nations Standard Minimum
Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules) 14 and the United
Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela
Rules), 15
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3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
2/5
Resolution 76/181, annex.
Resolution 34/169, annex.
Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders,
Milan, 26 August–6 September 1985: report prepared by the Secretariat (United Nations
publication, Sales No. E.86.IV.1), chap. I, sect. D.2, annex.
E/CN.4/2003/65, annex; see also Economic and Social Council resolution 2006/23, annex.
A/73/831-E/2019/56, annexes I and II.
Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders,
Havana, 27 August–7 September 1990: report prepared by the Secretariat (United Nations
publication, Sales No. E.91.IV.2), chap. I, sect. C.26, annex.
Ibid., chap. I, sect. B.3, annex.
Resolution 40/34, annex.
Economic and Council resolution 2002/12, annex.
Resolution 67/187, annex.
Resolution 45/110, annex.
Resolution 65/229, annex.
Resolution 40/33, annex.
Resolution 70/175, annex.
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